Profile

Areas of expertise

• Health inequalities
• Global health 
• Sexual and gender identities
• Social class
• Young people
• Mental health
• Qualitative research methodologies

Academic biography

My work is centrally concerned with the influence of sexual and gender identity and social class on mental health. My writing and research attempts to investigate and develop understandings of the social, economic and cultural origins of mental health and wellbeing. This is in contrast to dominant biomedical and psychiatric perspectives on mental health, which have a tendency to remain at the level of the individual and concentrate on risk factors and psychiatric morbidity. In particular, my work is focused on young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. This population group has elevated rates of poor mental health and my research aims to find explanations for this association, especially in relation to the material and subjective dynamics of social class. I have conducted studies investigating suicide, deliberate self-harm, emotional distress and wellbeing and have a new book due to be published in 2014 titled ‘Queer Youth and Self Harm: Psychosocial Perspectives (Palgrave Macmillan) (with Katrina Roen).

Research

Research interests and PhD supervision interests

• Health inequalities
• Intersection of social class, sexuality, gender and health
• Disadvantage and young people's health
• Mental health
• Qualitative research methodologies
• Global development of end of life care

Research projects

• Ontheedge2: Young LGBT people, emotional distress and deliberate self-harm

  This research is about how young people in the UK experience sexuality, gender and emotional distress, and why they may harm themselves. It is an ongoing collaboration with Katrina Roen from the University of Oslo and includes, so far, three projects which are outlined below.

• Living on the 'virtual' edge: Young LGBT people, deliberate self-harm and online forums

  This is British Academy (2011) funded research which aims to investigate why young LGBT people are more likely to engage in deliberate self-harm (DSH), and suicide attempting, than their heterosexual peers. It will examine online forums to investigate the virtual environments in which young people talk about their sexuality and gender identity. Using discourse analysis, the project seeks to build understanding on why some young LGBT people harm their bodies. Specific attention will be paid to young people’s everyday lives (e.g. school, family), and the way social norms may regulate gender and sexuality in young people.

  • Research summary for young people (PDF , 161kb)

  • Research summary for professionals (PDF , 280kb)

• Online pilot project

  This research is a pilot project funded by the University of York (2008-10) which aims to test the feasibility of qualitative online methods to investigate the distress around sexuality and gender that is understood to play a role in suicidal and self-harming behaviour among young adults, and the ways this may be mediated by social class position. This is a sensitive subject area and the project focuses on methodological development in two ways: i) what are the best ways to get young people to talk about mental distress, self-harming behaviour and sexual/gender identity; ii) what are the most productive ways of generating a diverse sample from marginalised population groups (e.g. lesbian, gay, transgender, queer, bisexual, uncertain, intersex). Project website.

• The cultural context of youth suicide: Identity, gender, and sexuality (with Jonathan Scourfield)

  This Economic and Social Research Council (2006-2007) funded study explores the cultural context of youth suicide in England and Wales, with a focus on the significance of gender identity and sexuality. It is a qualitative study drawing from the perspectives of young adults to develop understanding about the discursive framing of suicide and, specifically, the possible impact of emotional challenges presented by sexuality and gender issues.

Researching and Monitoring Young People's Sexual Orientation: Asking the Right Questions at the Right Time

Download Report [PDF, EHRC website]

This project is a consultancy for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and provides an overview of the evidence and issues on asking young heterosexual, lesbian, gay and bisexual people (12-25 years old) questions about sexual orientation for research and monitoring. The measurement of sexual identity for this population group is complex and under-developed so the project draws upon relevant research, policies, expert opinion and legislation from the UK and internationally.

Young Lesbian and Gay People, Disadvantage and Wellbeing

This study is a secondary data analysis of the National Young People’s Survey (2005) to investigate the ways in which sexual identity and social and economic disadvantage may interact to influence the wellbeing of young people aged between 13-16 years old in the UK.

Publications

Books

McDermott, E. and Roen, K. (2014) Queer Youth and Self Harm: Psychosocial Perspectives. Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. (forthcoming)

Hardy, M., Koprowska, J., McDermott, E. & Walton, P. (2013) Mental Health Social Work - The Art and Science of Practice, Pearson Publishers. (forthcoming)

Journal articles

McDermott, E., Roen, K. and Piela, A. Hard-to-reach youth online: Methodological advances in self-harm research. Qualitative Research (Submitted).

McDermott, E., Roen, K. and Piela, A. Explaining self-harm: Youth cybertalk and marginalised sexualities and genders.Youth and Society (submitted).

McDermott, E. and Roen, K. (2011) Youth on the virtual edge: Researching marginalized sexualities and genders online. Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 22 (4) pp. 560-570.

McDermott, E. (2011) The world some have won: Sexuality, class and inequality. Sexualities: Special Issue on Class. Vol. 14 (1) pp. 63-78.

Scourfield, J., Roen, K. & McDermott, E. (2011) The non-display of authentic distress: Public-private dualism in young people’s discursive construction of self harm. Sociology of Health and Illness. Vol. 33 (6) (September).

McDermott, E., Roen. K. & Scourfield, J. (2008) Avoiding shame: Young LGBT people, homophobia and self-destructive behaviours.  Culture, Health & Sexuality. Vol. 10 (8) pp. 815-829

Roen, K., Scourfield, J. & McDermott, E. (2008) Making sense of suicide: A discourse analysis of young people's talk about suicidal subjecthood. Social Science & Medicine. 67, pp. 2089-2097

Scourfield, J., Roen, K. & McDermott, E. (2008) Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people's experiences of distress: resilience, ambivalence and self-destructive behaviour. Health and Social Care in the Community, 16 (3), 329-336

McDermott, E., Selman, L., Wright, M. & Clark, D. (2008) Review of Palliative Care Developments in India. Journal of Pain & Symptom Management. Vol. 35 (6), pp. 583-593

McDermott, E. & Graham, H. (2006) Young mothers and smoking: Evidence of an evidence gap. Social Science & Medicine. Vol. 63, pp. 1546-1549 

Graham, H. & McDermott, E. (2006) Qualitative research and the evidence-base of policy: Insights from studies of teenage mothers in the UK. Journal of Social Policy. Vol. 35(1) 21-37.

McDermott, E. (2006) Surviving in dangerous places: Lesbian identity performances in the workplace, social class and psychological health. Feminism and Psychology, Vol. 16 (2), pp.193-211.         

McDermott, E., Bingley, A. F., Thomas, C., Payne, S., Seymour, J., Clark, D. (2006) Viewing patient need through professional writings: a systematic 'ethnographic' review of palliative care professionals' experiences of caring for people with cancer at the end of life. Progress in Palliative Care, Vol. 14 (1), pp. 9-18.

Bingley, A. F., McDermott, E., Thomas, C., Payne, S., Seymour, J., Clark, D. (2006) Making sense of dying: a review of narratives written since 1950 by people facing death from cancer and other diseases. Palliative Medicine, Vol. 20 (3), pp. 183-195.

McDermott, E. & Clark, D. (2006) What is this sunflower thing? Evaluation of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2005. European Journal of Palliative Care, Vol. 13 (5) p.217

McDermott, E. & Graham, H. (2005) Resilient young mothering: social inequalities, late modernity and the 'problem' of 'teenage' motherhood. Journal of Youth Studies, Vol. 8 (1), pp. 59-79

McDermott, E. (2004) Telling lesbian stories: Interviewing and the class dynamics of 'talk'. Women's Studies International Forum, Vol. 27 (3), pp. 177-187

Dockery, G., McDermott, L., Price, J. and Shaw, L. (1997) 'We just have normal sex': the perceptions and experiences in sexual health of women who have sex with women in Merseyside and Cheshire. Journal of Contemporary Health, Vol. 5,  pp. 42-46

Book Chapters

McDermott, E. (2012) ''I felt like the dad in the house': Lesbians wellbeing, class and the meanings of paid work,' in: Colgan, F. & Rumens, N. (eds.) Sexual Orientation at Work: Contemporary Issues and Perspectives. London, Routledge (forthcoming).

McDermott, E. (2011) Multiplex methodologies: Researching young people's wellbeing at the intersection of class, sexuality, gender and age, in: Casey, M., Hines, S. and Taylor, Y. (eds.) Theorising Intersectionality and Sexuality. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 235-254.

McDermott, E. (2010) 'I just want to be totally true to myself': Class and the making of the sexual self, in: Taylor, Y. (ed) Classed Intersections: Spaces, Selves, Knowledges. Farnham, Ashgate. pp. 199-216.

McDermott, E. & Bingley, A (2007) Resilience in resource-poor settings. In: Monroe, B. & Oliviere, D. (Eds.) Resilience & Palliative Care: Achievement in Adversity. Oxford, Oxford University Press. pp. 261-279

Petticrew, M., Whitehead, M., Bambra, C., Egan, M., Macintyre, S., McDermott, E. (2006) The Centre for Evidence-Based Public Health Policy: part of the ESRC Evidence Network. In: Killoran A., Swann, S. & Kelly, M. (Eds.)  Public Health Evidence: Tackling Health Inequalities. Oxford, HDA/OUP. pp. 141-154

Reports

McDermott, E. (2011) Researching and monitoring young people’s sexual orientation: Asking the right questions, at the right time. Manchester: Equality and Human Rights Commission. [PDF]

McDermott, E. & Clark, D. (2006) Evaluation of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2005. International Observatory on End of Life Care, Institute for Health Research, Lancaster University. [PDF]

McDermott, E., Selman, L. & Clark, D. (2006) Review of Palliative Care Developments in India. International Observatory on End of Life Care, Institute for Health Research, Lancaster University. [Website]

McDermott, E. (2005) Advocating Hospice and Palliative Care: Contexts, Challenges and Changes. Report of the 2nd Global Summit of National Associations of Hospice and Palliative Care, 15-16th March 2005, Seoul, Korea. International Observatory on End of Life Care, IHR, Lancaster University. [PDF]

Thomas, C., McDermott, E., Bingley, A., Payne, S. & Seymour, J. (2005) What are the Views of People Affected by Cancer and Other Illnesses about End of Life Issues?: Professional and Patient Perspectives. International Observatory on End of Life Care, Institute for Health Research, Lancaster University.

McDermott, E., Graham, H. & Hamilton, V. (2004) Experiences of Being a Teenage Mother in the UK: A Report of a Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies. ESRC Centre for Evidence-Based Public Policy. [PDF]

McDermott, E. (1998) Lesbians' Use of Mental Health Services in Liverpool. Unpublished MSc thesis, Centre for Health, Liverpool John Moores University.

SHADY (1996) Final Report of the Research on the Sexual Health Needs of Lesbians, Bisexual Women and Women who have Sex with Women in Merseyside/Cheshire. SHADY