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University of Glasgow


Summary

The internationally renowned research of the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit at the University of Glasgow focusses on developing and using cutting-edge methods to understand how social, behavioural, economic, political, and environmental factors influence health.

The school offers training in a range of quantitative methods including spatial analysis, social network modelling, and multilevel modelling. The school also has considerable expertise in a range of advanced qualitative methods, as well as mixed methods. Its researchers work with big data as well as sample surveys, and have expertise in primary data collection and analysis.


Senior fellow


Research interests

  • Social network analysis (SNA) applied to health behaviour
  • Sociocentric models: stochastic actor-oriented models, exponential random graph models
  • Egocentric models: multilevel ego-network models, network-informed regression
  • Survey methods, including multilevel models, moderation/mediation

Selected publications

  • Goodfellow, C., Willis, M., Inchley, J., Kharicha, K., Leyland, A. H., Qualter, P., Simpson, S., & Long, E. (2023). Mental health and loneliness in Scottish schools: a multilevel analysis of data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, (doi: 10.1111/bjep.12581). Early Online Publication.
  • Goodfellow, C., Hardoon, D., Inchley, J., Leyland, A. H. , Qualter, P., Simpson, S. A., & Long, E. (2022) Loneliness and personal well-being in young people: moderating effects of individual, interpersonal, and community factors. Journal of Adolescence, 94(4), pp. 554-568. (doi: 10.1002/jad.12046)
  • Long, E., Stevens, S., Topciu, R., Williams, A. J., Taylor, T. J., & Morrissey, K. (2022) Wellbeing and social network characteristics in rural communities: findings from a cohort in social housing in Cornwall, United Kingdom. International Journal of Community Well-Being, (doi: 10.1007/s42413-022-00167-5). Early Online Publication.
  • Marquez, J., Goodfellow, C., Hardoon, D., Inchley, J., Leyland, AH., Qualter, P., Simpson, SA., & Long, E. (2022). Loneliness in young people: a multilevel exploration of social ecological influences and geographic variation, Journal of Public Health, fdab402. (doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdab402).
  • Zucca, C. , Long, E. , Hilton, J., & McCann, M.(2021) Appraising the implementation of complexity approaches within the Public Health Sector in Scotland. An assessment framework for pre-implementation policy evaluation. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 653588. (doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.653588).
  • Marquez, J., & Long, E. (2020). A global decline in adolescents’ subjective well-being: a comparative study exploring patterns of change in the life satisfaction of 15-year-old students in 46 countries. Child Indicators Research. (doi: 10.1007/s12187-020-09788- 8).
  • Long, E., Zucca, C., & Sweeting, H. (2020). School climate, peer relationships, and adolescent mental health: A social ecological perspective. Youth & Society. (doi: 10.1177/0044118X20970232).
  • Long, E., Gardani, M., McCann, M., Sweeting, H., Tranmer, M., & Moore, L. (2020). Mental health disorders and adolescent peer relationships. Social Science & Medicine, 253, 112973. (doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112973).
  • Long, E., Barrett, T., & Lockhart, G. (2019). Chronic health conditions and adolescent friendship: perspectives from social network analysis. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health. (doi: 10.1515/ijamh-2018-0293).
  • Long, E. & Valente, T.W. (2018). Perceived social acceptability and longitudinal trends in adolescent cigarette smoking. Prevention Science, 20(6), 824-832. (doi: 10.1007/s11121-018-0945-y).
  • Simone, M., Long, E., & Lockhart, G. (2018). The dynamic relationship between unhealthy weight control and adolescent friendships: a social network approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(7), 1373-1384. (doi: 10.1007/s10964-017-0796-z).
  • Long, E., Barrett, T., & Lockhart, G. (2017). Network-behavior dynamics of adolescent friendship networks, alcohol use, and physical activity. Health Psychology, 36(6), 577-586. (doi: 10.1037/hea0000483).