University of Hertfordshire

Department of Psychology
University of Hertfordshire
College Lane
Hertfordshire
AL10 9AB

Tel : 01707 285282
Fax : 01707 285073

Email :

n.a.troop@herts.ac.uk

Telephone:

01707 286 451

Location:

H170, Yorkon

View my personal home page or work area

Subject Area :

Health Psychology

Personal Statement

I am a Chartered Psychologist and a Principal Lecturer in Health Psychology.

I did my first degree in Psychology at the University of Dundee (1988-1992) and then my PhD in the Eating Disorders Unit at the Institute of Psychiatry (1992-1996) before becoming a lecturer at the University of Essex in 1998. I then did a 7 year stretch as a Senior Lecturer at London Metropolitan University before joining the University of Hertfordshire in 2007.

I also lead a double life as a musician (see www.nicktroop.com) and have even been known to abuse my psychology training to explore subjects not traditionally viewed as academic ... like analysing David Bowie lyrics (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHm1MDnaZnw).

At the moment I'm running a study on the links between songwriting and health, both for experienced songwriters as well as people who have never written before but wish to start.

Research

My main areas of research interest are:

1. Aetiology of eating disorders: In particular the roles of stress and social processes such as shame and social rank. I have recently been awarded an MRC-ESRC Interdisciplinary grant to fund a PhD Studentship looking into the roles of affect systems and habit in problematic weight regulation.

2. Self-compassion: In particular, its effect on stress, symptoms and health behaviours. I am also interested in simple interventions to increase self-compassion (or self-soothing more generally) such as through music and expresive writing (see below).

3. Self-directed writing tasks: The self-regulation of emotion through writing and its effect on health (e.g. recent publications on self-compassion focused writing in hospice patients and the effect of writing about life goals on reducing self-criticism in students). I am also interested in song-writing as a form of expressive writing and its links with health and well-being.

Previous research has also included the evaluation of treatments for eating disorders, including the application of motivational models of health psychology and alternative methods for delivery.

Teaching

I run the MSc in Research Methods in Psychology. On that programme I also run the Research Methods & Statistics module as well as the Research Project and Apprenticeship modules. This programme is where the next generation of Psychology academics cut their teeth in preparation for a PhD (although it is also suitable for any career where an understanding of, or ability to carry out, psychology research may play a role).

I also teach the PSY3 Health Psychology module and a handful of PSY3 Projects.

Publications

Troop, N.A., Andrews, L., Hiskey, S., & Treasure, J.L. (2013). Social Rank and Symptom Change in Eating Disorders: A 6‐month Longitudinal Study. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy. In press.

Rowland, G., Robinson, G., Chilcot, J., & Troop, N.A. (2013). Social cognitive predictors of intention to test for vCJD in those affected by haemophilia and other clotting disorders. Journal of Health Psychology, In press.

Andrews, L., Joseph, S., Troop, N.A., Van Rooyen, T., Dunn, B., & Dalgleish, T. (2013). The Structure of Avoidance Following Trauma: Development and Validation of the Posttraumatic Avoidance Scale (PAS). Traumatology. In press.

Troop, N.A. (2013). Effect of dietary restraint on fruit and vegetable intake following implementation intentions. Journal of Health Psychology. In press.

Kupeli, N., Chilcot, J., Schmidt, U.H., Campbell, I.C., & Troop, N.A. (2013). A confirmatory factor analysis and validation of the forms of self‐criticism/reassurance scale. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 52, 12-25.

Troop, N.A. (2012). Helplessness, mastery and the development of eating disorders: Exploring the links between vulnerability and precipitating factors. Eating and Weight Disorders, 17, e274-e281.

Imrie, S., & Troop, N.A. (2012). A pilot study on the effects and feasibility of compassion-focused expressive writing in Day Hospice patients. Palliative and Supportive Care, 10, 115-122.

Troop, N.A., & Redshaw, C. (2012). General shame and Bodily Shame in Eating Disorders: A 2.5‐Year Longitudinal Study. European Eating Disorders Review, 20, 373-378.

Katzman, M.A., Treasure, J.L., Schmidt, U.H., Bara, N., Troop, N.A., Todd, G. & de Silva, P. (2010). A randomized controlled two-stage trial in the treatment of bulimia nervosa comparing CBT versus motivational enhancement in phase 1 followed by group versus individual CBT in phase 2. Psychosomatic Medicine, 7, 656-663.

Troop, N.A. & Baker, A.H. (2009). Food, body and soul: The role of disgust in eating disorders. In B.O. Olatunji & Dean McKay (Eds.) Disgust and its Disorders: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment, (pp.229-251). Washington, DC: APA.

Troop, N.A., Serpell, L., Allan, S. & Treasure, J.L. (2008). Shame in women with a past or current eating disorder. European Eating Disorders Review, 16, 480-488.

Troop, N.A. & Baker, A.H. (2008). The specificity of the relationship between depressive and eating disorder symptoms with social rank in a non-clinical population. Eating Disorders, 16, 331-341.

Roberts, C.R., Troop, N.A., Connan, F., Treasure, J.L. & Campbell, I. (2007). The effects of stress on body weight: biological and psychological predictors of BMI. Obesity, 15(12), 3045-3055.

Connan, F., Troop, N.A., Landau, S., Campbell, I. & Treasure, J.L. (2007). Poor social comparison and the tendency to submissive behaviour in anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40, 733-739.

Griffiths, J. & Troop, N.A. (2006). Disgust, fear and dieting concerns in a non-clinical population. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 19, 421-433.

Troop, N.A., Sotrilli, S., Serpell, L. & Treasure, J.L. (2006). Establishing a useful distinction between current and anticipated bodily shame in eating disorders. Eating and Weight disorders, 11, 83-90.

Gale, C., Holliday, H., Troop, N.A., Serpell, L. & Treasure, J.L. (2006). The Pros and Cons of Change in Individuals with Eating Disorders: A Broader Perspective. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 39, 394-403.

Andrews, L., Joseph, S., Shevlin, M. & Troop, N.A. (2006) Confirmatory factor analysis of posttraumatic stress symptoms in emergency personnel: An examination of seven alternative models. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 213-224.

Hiskey, S., Troop, N.A. & Joseph, S. (2006). The Conceptualisation and Development of a Bi-Directional Measure of Changes in Being Following Adversity. Traumatology, 12, 25-43.

Serpell, L., Teasdale, J., Troop, N., & Treasure, J. (2004). The development of the P-CAN: a scale to operationalise the pros and cons of anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 36, 416-433.

Andrews, L., Shevlin, M., Troop, N.A. & Joseph, S. (2004). Multidimensionality of intrusion and avoidance: Alternative factor models of the Impact of Event Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 431-446.

Troop, N.A., Allan, S., Treasure, J.L. & Katzman, M. (2003). Social comparison and submissive behaviour in eating disorders. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 76, 237-249.

Gee, A. & Troop, N.A. (2003). Shame, depressive symptoms and eating, weight and shape concerns in a non-clinical sample. Eating and Weight Disorders, 8, 72-75.

Karwautz, A., Troop, N.A., Rabe-Hesketh, S., Collier, D. & Treasure, J.L. (2003) Personality disorders and personality dimensions in anorexia nervosa. Journal of Personality Disorders, 17, 73-85.

Jordan, P., Redding, Troop, N.A, Treasure, J.L. & Serpell, L. (2003). Developing a Stage of Change measure for assessing recovery from anorexia nervosa. Eating Behaviors, 3, 365-385.

Troop, N.A. & Connan, F. (2003). Shame, social rank and eating disorders. In G.M. Ruggieri (Ed.) Eating disorders in the Mediterranean area: An exploration in transcultural psychology. New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Serpell, L. & Troop, N.A. (2003). Psychological factors in eating disorders. In J. Treasure, U. Schmidt & E. van Furth (Eds.) Handbook of eating disorders (2nd edition) (pp.151-167). Chichester: Wiley.

Tchanturia, K., Katzman, M., Troop, N.A. & Treasure, J.L. (2002). An exploration of eating disorders in a Georgian sample. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 48, 220-230.

Andrews, L., Troop, N.A., Joseph, S., Hiskey, S. & Coyne, I. (2002). Attempted versus successful avoidance: Associations with distress, symptoms, and strategies for mental control. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 897-907.

Harvey, T., Troop, N.A., Treasure, J.L. & Murphy, T. (2002). Fear, disgust and abnormal eating attitudes. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 32, 213-218.

Hiskey, S. & Troop, N.A. (2002). On-line longitudinal survey research: Viability and participation. Social Science Computer Review, 20, 250-259.

Troop, N.A. & Bifulco, A.(2002). Childhood social arena and cognitive sets in eating disorders: A preliminary investigation. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 41, 205-211.

Troop, N.A., Treasure, J.L. & Serpell, L. (2002). A further exploration of disgust in eating disorders. European Eating Disorders Review, 10, 218-226.

Tchanturia, K., Troop, N.A. & Katzman, M. (2002). Same pie, different portions: Shape and weight-based self-esteem and eating disorder symptoms in a Georgian sample. European Eating Disorders Review, 10, 110-119.

Sanchez, P., Troop, N.A. & Treasure, J.L. (2002). Psychophysiology and eating disorders. In H. D’hænen, J.A. den Boer & P. Willner (Eds.) Biological psychiatry. Wiley & Sons.

Tchanturia, K., Serpell, L., Troop, N.A. & Treasure, J.L. (2001). Perceptual rigidity in eating disorders. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 32, 107-115.

Troop, N.A., Serpell, L. & Treasure, J.L. (2001). Specificity in the relationship between depressive and eating disorder symptoms in remitted and non-remitted women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 30, 306-311.

Thiels, C., Schmidt, U.H., Troop, N.A. Treasure, J.L. & Garthe, R. (2001). Compliance with a self-care manual in guided self-change for bulimia nervosa. European Eating Disorders Review, 9, 255-262.

Administrative and Professional

I am a Principal Lecturer in Health Psychology and my main role is as the Program Tutor for the MSc in Health Psychology.I also teach the undergraduate health psychology module.