Affiliation 

University of Sheffield 

Bio 

Richard Bentall is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Sheffield and has previously held chairs at Liverpool University, Manchester University and Bangor University. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of the British Academy.

He graduated with a BSc and then a PhD in experimental psychology at the University College of North Wales (now Bangor University) and then completed his clinical training at Liverpool University. He also holds an MA in philosophy applied to health care awarded by University College Swansea (now Swansea University). His research interests have mainly focused on psychosis.

He has studied the cognitive and emotional mechanisms involved in psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, paranoid delusions and manic states, using methods ranging from psychological experiments, and experience sampling to functional magnetic resonance imaging. These studies have also examined why social risk factors (for example childhood adversities such as poverty, abuse, and bullying) provoke the cognitive and emotional changes that lead to these symptoms. In collaboration with colleagues at Manchester and elsewhere he has also conducted large scale randomized controlled trials of psychological interventions for people diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and prodromal psychosis. Most recently he has been leading a project measuring the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK population.

He has published approximately 300 peer-review papers and a number of books, including Madness explained: Psychosis and human nature (Penguin, 2003) and Doctoring the mind: Why psychiatric treatments fail (Penguin, 2009).

Title

Psychological distress and resilience in a population under existential threat: Understanding the multifaceted impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract 

The COVID-19 pandemic constituted an unprecedented global threat to the health, economic wellbeing and social life of the human population. The COVID-19 Psychological Research Consortium brought together researchers from the Universities of Sheffield, Ulster, UCL, Liverpool and Royal Holloway and Bedford to monitor and understand these effects. Our first survey wave was conducted in the week of March 23rd 2020 (lockdown week) and three further waves were conducted up to December 2020, with a fifth wave launching in the last week of March 2021. Our sample of N > 2000 (rising to N > 3500 in waves 4 and 5) is highly representative of the population in terms of age, sex, household income, voting history and many other variables and we have measured not only mental health outcomes but health-related behaviours, political attitudes, COVID-19 conspiracy theories and attitudes towards vaccination. Analyses thus far do not support the 'tsunami of mental ill-health' narrative that has been promoted by some parts of the press but, instead, reveal a more nuanced picture of a population that has adapted to extraordinary circumstances, with some groups badly affected by the restrictions introduced in the pandemic but others thriving. Understanding these effects will be vital in planning for future national emergencies.

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