Senior researcher

The Faculty of Social Sciences, INVEST Flagship and Research Centre at the University of Turku invites applications for a contract-based, fixed term position of a Project Researcher or Senior Researcher (post-doctoral position) from 1.1.2027 to 31.12.2029. Employment starts on 1.1.2027 or as agreed.

The recruited researcher will work in the RCoF-funded HIPES project (under the INVEST Flagship.

The HIPES project: Testing a Hypothesis of Inflated Prevalence of mental health problems, while Expanding it with a Social Lens

Over the past decades, extensive efforts (e.g., campaigns) have been made to improve public understanding and awareness of mental health problems. Paradoxically, over the same period, reported rates of mental health problems - especially anxiety and depression - have risen dramatically among young people. The prevalence inflation hypothesis suggests that awareness efforts may not only have improved recognition of existing problems but also, for some youth, led to overinterpretation of mild symptoms as disorders - thus inflating the prevalence estimates. Overinterpretation can be problematic, as it may trigger self-fulfilling prophecies and thus, worsen symptoms over time. The prevalence inflation hypothesis remains untested to date and overlooks the influence of adolescents' proximal environments - school, peers, and parents. HIPES will collect various types of data (surveys, daily diaries, experiments, and interviews) to test how these proximal contexts shape adolescents' accurate recognition versus overinterpretation, and how social interactions mediate the effects of overinterpretation on the aggravation of mental health problems.

Job description

This project is situated within the INVEST Psychology research group (led by prof. Christina Salmivalli), see https://invest.utu.fi/psychology/. We are seeking an applicant with strong motivation to plan and conduct high quality research (including designing studies, publishing papers, applying for gr