PhD position Persuasive Communication: An Intervention for Non-suicidal Self-injury and Depression through a Culturally-sensitive Chatbot.
Are you interested in how a personalized culturally-sensitive chatbot can contribute to mental health problem prevention in migrants? Do you want to understand the complex dynamics and mechanisms underlying engagement in prevention in three generations of Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan communities suffering from depression and/or non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI)? Then, apply for this PhD project!
We are looking for an ambitious PhD Candidate for the four-year project “MIND-CHAT:
May I help you? An
Intervention for
Non-suicidal self-injury and
Depression through a culturally-sensitive
Chatbot.”, which is funded by the Centre for Urban Mental Health. The PhD Candidate will be embedded in the
Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), and is part of the
Persuasive Communication Programme Group.
What are you going to doThe project Dutch-Turkish and Dutch-Moroccan communities are the largest communities with a non-Western background in the Netherlands. These communities face a pressing mental health issue: depression hits them more frequently (15.1% for first generation and 13.0% for second generation; for third generation, numbers are unknown) than the native Dutch population (8.2%). Also, relapses are common among this population (25.4% to 27.9%). This inequality is a critical public health concern, particularly because depressive symptoms can lead to a cascade of adverse outcomes, such as NSSI, a behaviour associated with significant distress and elevated suicide rates. Further, Turkish or Moroccan migrants infrequently seek professional help or engage in secondary prevention (i.e., prevention of the worsening of symptoms and relapses) for their mental health problems in part due to stigma/taboo, low mental health literacy, mistrust, privacy concerns, negative attitudes, and low intentions.
This project aims to develop a personalized culturally-sensitive chatbot-based intervention that allows three generations of Dutch-Moroccan and Dutch-Turkish migrants with depression and/or NSSI to engage in secondary prevention.
Methods used in the project include focus groups as part of the complexity science approach to develop causal loop diagrams (including feedback loops); think-aloud and interviews as part of the user-centred design approach; and an experimental study to test the chatbot intervention. The PhD Candidate will write a paper-based dissertation and strive to publish the results of individual sub-studies in important journals in the field of Communication Science.
The project will be supervised by Dr. Nida Gizem Yilmaz, Dr. Annemiek Linn, Dr. Tinne Buelens, Dr. Henk Cremers, and Prof. Dr. Ellen Smets.
Centre for Urban Mental Health The Centre for Urban Mental Health (UMH) is the largest interdisciplinary Research Priority Area of the University of Amsterdam. It aims to find new pathways to improve mental health in the city that take into account the complexities and dynamics of mental health problems and mental health disorders in an urban environment. The general emphasis in the 2nd funding period (2024-2028) lies in developing and testing innovative interventions, aimed at different levels operating within an UMH context, i.e., from the individual to small social systems, such as family interventions up to urban level interventions on neighbourhoods, and up to a more global urban level, such as policy interventions.
You will be appointed within the Department of Communication Science, University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences but will (also) become a member of the Centre for Urban Mental Health (UMH). UMH is the largest Research Priority Area of the University of Amsterdam, bringing together unique multidisciplinary research teams. UMH is embedded within three faculties of the University of Amsterdam and is unified by the emerging knowledge and skills available from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Faculty of Science, together with the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS, UvA). This collaboration brings together unique multidisciplinary research teams and stakeholders from the Amsterdam region.
UMH is managed by three directors - prof. dr. Claudi Bockting, prof. dr. Reinout Wiers and dr. Harm Krugers - and is supported by a coordinator and an assistant. Most meetings for UMH are held on Wednesdays at the Institute for Advanced Study in the centre of Amsterdam.
All UMH team members, thus PhD candidates, PostDocs as well as their supervisors, are expected to not only work on their own projects, but to also work on the UMH framework collaboratively, and are expected to prioritise time to participate in weekly UMH sessions at the IAS, such as PhD meetings, PI meetings and Lecture series. The UMH PhD candidate is thus expected to be an active member of the centre and the community associated with the centre.
For ongoing projects at UMH, see our website:
www.centreforurbanmentalhealth.comYou will/tasks As a PhD candidate you are responsible for setting up the individual studies, recruiting participants, collecting and analysing data and writing scientific articles that culminate in your dissertation. Hence, more specifically, your tasks will be to:
- Complete an English-language PhD dissertation consisting of research articles within the appointment period;
- Recruit and conduct focus groups with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation Dutch-Moroccan and Dutch-Turkish migrants;
- Recruit and organize expert meetings with mental health care professionals;
- Develop causal loop diagrams, including relevant feedback loops;
- Adapt, evaluate, and optimize a mental health chatbot through user-centred design (involving both qualitative and quantitative research);
- Test the effectiveness of the chatbot in a two-arm experimental study;
- Conduct data analysis, and write research articles;
- Present the work at national and international conferences;
- Spend 10% of your time on teaching-related tasks.
What do you have to offer You are passionate about conducting interdisciplinary mixed-method research in the field of persuasive communication, with a focus on (mental) health communication. You can be creative in problem-solving within these fields, are open to feedback, are committed to open science, are eager to master new skills (e.g., novel research methods), and are able to keep calm in a rapidly changing environment. You are versatile and able to successfully balance demands of several tasks (e.g., combining research and teaching), are organized and flexible, and able to work both independently and collaboratively.
Your experience and profile - a Research Master’s degree or strong research profile in Communication Science, Psychology, or another discipline relevant to the project;
- candidates with another Research Master’s degree may apply but should motivate why their experience suffices for this project;
- interest in topics associated with mental health, migrants, and digital interventions;
- proven experience with quantitative and/or qualitative research methods (interviews and/or focus groups, survey, experiment, co-creation/user-centred design);
- capable of and comfortable with expressing yourself clearly in Dutch (and English), both verbally and in writing;
- motivation to work in an interdisciplinary team.
For this project, Dutch language proficiency is required. A1 and A2 levels are not sufficient. B1 and B2 levels are acceptable provided that the candidate feels comfortable speaking in Dutch and is willing to enhance Dutch language proficiency in the first year of the project.
As this project will comprise conducting interviews and working with Dutch-Moroccan and Dutch-Turkish people, a background or language proficiency that fits this target group is a plus.
Besides, experience with statistical analyses (e.g., in SPSS and/or R) and writing scientific publications are a plus.
What can we offer you The planned starting date for this project is October 15, 2024 (to be negotiated). The position concerns temporary employment of 38 hours (1.0fte) for a maximum term of 4 years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances, this term will be extended by a maximum of 36 additional months (48 in total), which should result in the conferral of a doctorate.
We will put together a curriculum which will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events. The position includes teaching duties (10%, i.e., 0.1fte). For this position the University Job Classification profile PhD Candidate (Promovendus) applies.
Your salary will be €2,770 gross per month in the first year and will increase to €3,539 in the final year, based on full-time employment and in keeping with the
Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities. We additionally offer an extensive package of secondary benefits, including 8% holiday allowance and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
The UvA offers excellent possibilities for further professional development and education.
What else do we offer - a position in which initiative and input are highly valued
- an enthusiastic and warm team that is open to new colleagues
- a strongly interdisciplinary research project based on an innovative methodological approach
- great opportunity to expand your network (e.g., by working both on campus and at the location of the Centre for Urban Mental Health)
- the possibility to write a PhD dissertation on a societally, academically, and clinically relevant topic
- an inspiring academic and international working environment in the heart of Amsterdam.
About us The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands, with the broadest spectrum of degree programmes. It is an intellectual hub with 39,000 students, 6,000 employees and 3,000 doctoral students who are all committed to a culture of inquiring minds.
About the faculty A challenging work environment with a variety of duties and ample scope for individual initiative and development within an inspiring organization. The
social and behavioural sciences play a leading role in addressing the major societal challenges faced by the world, the Netherlands and Amsterdam, now and in the future.
Want to know more about our organisation? Read more about
working at the University of Amsterdam.
Questions Do you have any questions or do you require additional information? Please contact:
Job application Do you recognize yourself in the job profile? Then we look forward to receiving your application by August 30th, 2024. Interviews with the selected candidates will take place between September 16th-20th. If deemed necessary, a second round of interviews will be scheduled on September 26th and/or 27th. You may apply online by using the link below.
Applications bundled in
one .pdf should include:
- a curriculum vitae;
- a letter of motivation that outlines your affinity with the topic and your interest in pursuing this PhD project (max 2 pages): please be as specific as possible in describing how you meet the selection criteria, or if you do not yet meet all the criteria how you expect to acquire the required skills.
The bundled document in
PDF must be uploaded under the mandatory field CV*.
The UvA is an equal-opportunity employer. We prioritise diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for everyone. We value a spirit of enquiry and perseverance, provide the space to keep asking questions, and promote a culture of curiosity and creativity.No agencies please.If an ‘Error GBB451’ occurs, please click here for more information and help.