Dr. Raginie Duara

Profile

I obtained my PhD (Health and Social Psychology) from University of Leeds in the year 2017 where I used arts-based methods to explore lived experiences of young people experiencing quarterlife crisis in both Assam (India) and England (UK). 

I have been using qualitative methods in my research from the time of my postgraduate degree when I did my dissertation on youth suicide in Bangalore, India. This work on youth suicide led my interest further in research and I planned to do my PhD on crisis faced by some young people (in the UK and India) in their transition to adulthood. I used qualitative methods incorporating innovative modes of enquiry - photo-elicitation and time-lining, and analysed this complex data using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Towards the end of my doctoral program, I worked in the School of Dentistry at University of Leeds for a period of five months to help collect interview data, analyse and develop reports on children’s oral health practices, prepared for developing interventions and published in journals. Following completion of this project duty, I left for India where I worked as an Assistant Professor/Department Coordinator in Royal Global University (Assam) for a period of one year.

I recently completed a project, The Big Picture, that lasted three and a half years and that used qualitative methods in exploring experiences of young people in recovery from addiction and those at risk of addiction. Part of my role involved collecting data through photo-elicitation interviews, and working along with my team in analysing the data and publishing findings. I also worked with project participants in filmmaking, engaging and enhancing their voice and helping spread awareness about youth substance addiction, rehabilitation and recovery aimed at prevention and tackling stigma associated with young addicts.

I briefly worked as a Research Assistant in Interdisciplinary Research (School of Psychology), where I managed two networks, Leeds Interdisciplinary Mental Health Research Network and InterActiveUoL. I am currently working as a Research Fellow in project CREATE where we seek to unravel some of the potentials of arts-based methods in adolescent mental health specifically focusing on loneliness, while also exploring interdisciplinary approaches that cut across arts and science. 

Research interests

My research work has focused on young people transitionig to adulthood, exploring their perceptions and experiences using qualitative methods. 

My masters thesis was on youth suicide and the role parental attachment played in protecting young people who have had suicidal ideation. With some research after my postgraduation, I came across the concept of quarterlife crisis coined by two American journalists and this became the focus of my doctoral thesis. When I moved to England to research this topic, I became curious how this crisis is felt in different sociocultural settings. So I redefined my project aim to not only interview young English people from the UK, but also young Assamese people from India. 

The third project I was involved in was with the School of Dentistry. This was a unique challenge for me interviewing children up to seven years of age, interacting with them about good oral health practices, what is working and what needs further development. Separate interviews were also conducted with parents of the young children with the same objective of improving children's oral health practices.

I continued my journey working with young people when I joined as a Research Fellow (School of Psychology, University of Leeds) studying substance addiction among the Assamese youth. I interviewed young people between 15-18 years of age to explore experiences of those at-risk of substance addiction, specifically identifying what helped them stay away from addictive substances. I also interviewed young people between 19-24 years of age who were in successful recovery from substance addiction. It was a pleasure and an immense learning opportunity working with these young people and we were together able to produce some visually impactful materials dedicated to bring awareness about substance addiction and recovery among the local community. Together we produced six short films (https://projectresilience.co.uk/projects/the-big-picture/) and an educational package that included an animation of pathways to recovery (https://licensing.leeds.ac.uk/product/pathways-to-recovery-model-of-substance-use-disorder-youthassam-comics-type-images-and-animations).

Qualifications

• PhD Health and Social Psychology
• MSc Clinical Psychology
• BA Psychology, Sociology, Economics