The aim of this PhD project is to unravel the complex relationship between mental health and young adults’ working life trajectories. Pathways to successful labour market participation and a healthy working life course are complex, probably bidirectional, and can only be fully understood from a life course perspective. Child and adolescent mental health problems may lead to poorer educational attainment and employment outcomes. Low educational attainment may lead to mental health problems, occurring in particular in combination with (cumulative) adverse childhood conditions and lack of social support. Evidence lacks almost fully on the pathways linking childhood and adolescence mental health problems to labour market participation.

The available position concerns a project entitled ‘Mental health and working life trajectories in young adults’ and is part of the NWO-funded VICI project “Today’s youth is tomorrow’s workforce”. The successful candidate will contribute to the organisation and execution of TRAILS (www.trails.nl), a longitudinal cohort study that provides data for this project, employ sophisticated statistical techniques to investigate a series of research questions with respect to the abovementioned research theme, and present the results in high-quality, scientific journals and on (inter-)national meetings. In addition, the section Community and Occupational Medicine expects active participation in research meetings and the willingness to fulfill some teaching obligations.

Eligible candidates should have the following qualifications:
- A degree in the Social, Medical or Health Sciences
- A passion for research
- Relevant experience in and affinity with the research theme
- Experience in statistical methods for the analysis of complex longitudinal data
- Excellent English writing and presentation skills
- Good organizational skills
- Good mastery of the Dutch language, or the willingness to gain this mastery within one year

The UMCG has a preventive Hepatitis B policy. You may be required to build up sufficient protection against Hepatitis B before you can be appointed. Vaccination is provided by the UMCG if necessary.

We offer a PhD position for a period of fours years (1fte). The appointment will be at the Department of Health Sciences, Community and Occupational Medicine of the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG).
Your salary is € 2.279,- gross per month in the first year up to € 2.919,- gross per month in the last year (scale PhD) for a full time position (36 hours). In addition, the UMCG will offer an annual 8% holiday pay, an 8.3% end-of-the-year bonus and a development budget. The terms of employment comply with the Collective Labor Agreement for medical centers (UMC-CAO).

Health Sciences, section Community and Occupational Medicine

This vacancy for a talented, curiosity-driven PhD student with strong interest in interdisciplinary research is available at the Department of Health Sciences, section Community and Occupational Medicine of the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). The section contributes to healthy ageing over the life course, by conducting high-quality quantitative and qualitative research, often in close collaboration with policy makers and practitioners in public and occupational health. Community and Occupational Medicine participates in the Research Master Clinical and Psychosocial Epidemiology.