Dr Alan Meehan PhD

Alan joined the Department of Psychology as a Teaching Fellow in December 2021. Prior to this, he completed his PhD in Developmental Psychopathology at King’s College London in 2017, which examined subtypes of young people with callous-unemotional traits based on co-occurring levels of anxiety and prosocial behaviour. This was followed by a postdoctoral position investigating the application of novel prediction modelling approaches to enhance identification of mental health risk in young people.

Alan’s research focuses on identifying processes of risk and resilience for child and adolescent mental health problems, with a particular focus on childhood trauma and adversity. His work to date has drawn extensively on data from longitudinal cohorts, including the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. As a result, Alan has significant expertise in longitudinal research methods, particularly structural equation modelling techniques. He is currently affiliated with the IoPPN’s Stress and Development Lab, as well as Yale University’s Child Study Center via an honorary Clinical Research Affiliate post.

Throughout his PhD and postdoctoral studies, Alan has taught undergraduate and postgraduate students on a wide range of topics related to developmental psychology, statistics, and research methods. He has also supervised research projects related to his own interests at undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral level.

Research interests:

• Developmental psychopathology
• Consequences of early-life trauma and adversity
• Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems
• Longitudinal research methods
• Prediction modelling and machine learning

Teaching:

• Psychology and Development
• Classic and Contemporary Studies in Developmental Science
• Psychological Skills
• Research Methods

Expertise and Public Engagement:

Alan has communicated his research to the public through online publications, presentations to patient and public involvement groups at several healthcare trusts, as well as school-based workshop initiatives supported by public engagement grants. Recent examples include:

Health screening using adverse childhood experiences: further evidence highlights the need to hit pause. Published by the Early Intervention Foundation (March 2022). Read it here.