Dr Elaine Duncan

Senior Lecturer

ROOM: M448
T: +44 141 331 3881
E: e.duncan@gcu.ac.uk

Profile

Elaine Duncan joined GCU in 1993. She is a member of both the Health Protection and Improvement Research Group and the Active Living Group within the Institute for Applied Health at GCU. She supports the Talented Athletes Programme and is a member of the Sport, Health and Active Lifestyle Group within GCU. Her specialist areas are emotional health and wellbeing, written-disclosure, positive psychology and wellbeing interventions, sport and exercise psychology. Elaine is a Chartered Psychologist and a Chartered Scientist with the British Psychological Society (BPS). She is also a Registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist with the Health Professions Council. In November 2010 she graduated with a MSc. in Psychological Counselling. She is now a person-centred counsellor at The Sandyford Initiative, Glasgow and a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Elaine acts as consultant to both the Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing and Wellhouse Housing Association. Presently she is engaged in a major initiative to test whether a self-help manual can increase the subjective wellbeing of residents in socially deprived areas.

Elaine has acted as a reviewer for many journals, for numerous grant applications made to the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Medical Research Council (MRC) and book proposals. Elaine is accustomed to working with the media (radio, newspapers and television) believing that dissemination of research findings and good practice is an essential part of being a psychologist.

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Introductory Skills for Psychology, Level 1 (Trimester 1 and 2) – Module Leader
• Sport and Exercise Psychology, Level 2 (Trimester 1) - Module Leader
• Psychology: An Introduction, Level 1 (Trimester 1 and 2)
• Psychology in the Real World, Level 1 (Trimester 2)
• Human Cognition, Level 3, (Trimester 2)
• Physiology of Behaviour, Level 3 (Trimester 2)
• Counselling Psychology, Level 4 (Trimester 2)
• Supervisor of Level 4 Empirical Projects

Post-graduate

Currently supervising 3 doctoral students (activity monitoring in young children coupled with a psychological intervention to increase levels of physical activity, perceptions of walk and talk therapy, the experience of hearing loss in later life).

Society/Committee Membership

• Represents Scotland within the European Network of Positive Psychologists
• Appointed non-Italian Member of the Scientific Board of the Doctoral Programme of The Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Milano, Italy
• Member of the British Psychological Society’s Policy Support Unit
• Member of BPS and BACP
• Member of European Health Psychology Society
• Member of Sustainable Development Research Network (SDRN)
• Member of World Database of Happiness
• Member of Scottish Sport Psychology Support Group
• Trustee of Mondo Challenge Foundation

Selected Peer Reviewed Articles

• Cummings, J., & Duncan, E. (2010). Changes in affect and future exercise intentions as a result of exposure to a regular exercise programme using the Wii-Fit. Sport and exercise Psychology review, 6: 31-39
• Pollock, K. G. J, Duncan, E, Cowden J.M. (2009). Emotional and behavioural changes in parents of children affected by haemolytic uraemic syndrome associated with verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli: a qualitative analysis. Psychosomatics 50:3, 1-7
• Duncan, E., & Sheffield, D. (2008). Diary Keeping and Wellbeing. Psychological Reports
• Drake, L, Duncan E, Sutherland, F, Abernethy C., & Henry C. (2008). Time Perspectives and Correlates of Wellbeing. Time and Society
• Duncan, E., Gidron, Y., Moser, A. M., Rabin E., Goichberg L., & Kapelushnik J. (2007). The effects of guided written disclosure on physical and psychological symptoms among parents of children with leukaemia. Journal of Family Nursing, 13: 370-384
• Duncan, E. (2005). Emotion and exercise: Reflections and Aspirations. Sport and Exercise Psychology Review.Vol 1, No 1: 5-11. Leicester: British Psychological Association
• Duncan, E., Gidron, Y, Krishna, R., & Aryal, T. (http://www.massey.ac.nz/%7Etrauma/issues/2005-1/duncan.htm). Correlates of post–traumatic stress and physical symptoms in Nepali adults under political turmoil. The Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies – http://www.massey.ac.nz/-trauma
• Duncan, E., & Grazzani-Gavazzi, I. (2004). Positive Emotional Experiences in Scottish and Italian Young Adults: A Diary Study. Journal of Happiness Studies. 5: 359-384
• Grazzani Gavazzi, I., & Duncan, E. (2004). Emozioni a valenza positiva e compiti di sviluppo in adolescenza. Eta Evolutiva, Giugno, 78, pp. 14-26
• Gidron, Y., Duncan, E., Lazar, A., Biderman, M. A., Tandeter, H., Schwartzman, P. (2002) Effects of Guided Written-Disclosure of Stressful Experiences on Clinic-Visits and Symptoms in Frequent Clinic Attendees. Family Practice, vol.19, No 2, pp161-166

Selected Book Chapters

• Duncan, E., Grazzani-Gavazzi, I., & Subba, U. (May 2009). Reflections on Positive Psychology. In L. Bortolotti., (Ed.). Philosophy and Happiness. Palgrave
• Drake, L., & Duncan, E. (2008). "Time Perspective, Physical Activity and Subjective Happiness. In T. Freire., (Ed.), Understanding Positive Life. Research and Practice on Positive Psychology. Lisboa: Climepsi Editores
• Grazzani-Gavazzi, I., Duncan, E., & Ornaghi, V. (2007). Felicità e benessere soggettivo: un confronto culturale tra Italiani e Scozzesi. In A. Delle Fave (Ed.) (2007). La condivisione del benessere. Il contributo della psicologia positiva. Milano: Franco Angeli.
• Grazzani Gavazzi I., Albanese O., & Duncan E. (2006). Adolescence and awareness of positive emotions: a diary study. In F. Pons, L. Lafortune et al., Towards the emotional competence [provisional title], Aalborg University Press, Aalborg
• Duncan, E., & Craig, C. (2007). Confidence Matters: Profile of the Centre of Confidence and Wellbeing, The Bulletin, No. 32, Autumn, 2007. BPS Scotland. A Branch of the BPS ISSN 1356-7489
• Grazzani Gavazzi, I., & Duncan, E. (2007). La felicita in adolescenza. La narrazione delle emozioni in adolescenza. Milano, McGraw-Hill
• Duncan E., Grazzani Gavazzi I., Sheffield D. (2006), Positive emotional experience in Scottish and Italian young adults: summary findings, scientific issues and the way forward. In A. Delle Fave (ed.). Dimensions of Wellbeing, Research and Intervention. Franco Angeli, Milano
• Grazzani Gavazzi I., Albanese O., & Duncan E. (2006). Adolescence and awareness of positive emotions: a diary study. In F. Pons, L. Lafortune et al., Towards the emotional competence [provisional title], Aalborg University Press, Aalborg.

Additional non-academic qualifications

Qualified Highland Dancing teacher with the Scottish Dance Teachers Association (S.D.T.A)

As a semi-professional Highland Dancer, in a career spanning 15 years, Elaine was twice World Champion and won numerous regional, national and international championships.

Interests/hobbies

Hiking, mountaineering, rock-climbing, road races, reading travel, adventure and biographical literature, cinema, photography and Geocaching. She is a member of Cloud Appreciation Society, and of Spice Scotland. She takes part in fundraising events regularly (mainly raising funds for Mondo Challenge and Kidney Research UK).