Dr Beth Bell

Profile

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Mental Health and Wellbeing. My research focuses on understanding and improving youth wellbeing in the digital age. I am Pathway Director for Psychology Postgraduate Programmes, a member of the Psychology in Education Research Centre and lead the Future Youth Wellbeing Research (FYRE) Group.

I gained my DPhil in Psychology from the University of Sussex in 2012. I subsequently pursued interdisciplinary postdoctoral research at Bangor University and Northumbria University. I then worked as a Lecturer in Psychology at York St John University, before joining the Department of Education at the University of York in 2021.

Research

Overview

My research adopts a mixed-methods interdisciplinary approach to understanding the risks and opportunities that digital media and technologies present for youth wellbeing. A second strand of my research focuses on developing and evaluating interventions to promote youth wellbeing and positive technology use delivered in educational and technological settings. My current funded projects focus on digital wellbeing literacy, multi-sector approaches to improving youth health and wellbeing, and racially minoritised girls’ harassment experiences and mental health.

Research group(s)

• Psychology in Education Research Centre (PERC)
• Future Youth Research Group (FYRE)

Grants

My research has received funding from a variety of sources including UK Research Councils (ESRC, EPSRC, NIHR), charitable trusts (Nuffield Foundation), local authorities (City of York Council) and third sector organisations (e.g., Mind).

Find out more information about my Improving Wellbeing-Focused Media Literacy in the Digital Age project funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

Supervision

I have availability to supervise new PhD students from the 2026-2027 academic year onwards. While I welcome enquiries from applicants with proposals on areas broadly aligned with my interests, I am especially interested in supervising qualitative and/or mixed-methods research projects focused on:

1. Digital literacy (including AI literacy) and wellbeing
2. Social media and youth mental health.

External activities

Overview

My research has significant real-world impact. I led a REF 2021 impact case study on improving adolescents’ body image and digital literacy. I have provided expert testimony for NICE public health guidelines, contributed to all-party-parliamentary-groups, given on- and off- screen consultation for various TV and radio programmes (e.g. The Truth About..., BBC One), delivered invited talks for a range of audiences (e.g., Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) and written translational research articles for lay audiences (e.g., The Conversation).

I serve as Associate Editor for two international journals: the British Journal of Educational Psychology and Body Image. I am a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society (since 2011), where I have held multiple leadership positions, including Cyberpsychology Conference Chair (2022-3) and Chair of North-East Branch (2015-8). I am also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (since 2019; formerly Fellow 2010-18). I am regularly invited to present my research and methodology expertise at conferences, events and universities, both in the UK and internationally.