Ms Amanda Atkinson

Biography

Amanda Atkinson is a Senior Researcher within the Public Health Institute. Over the last 9 years Amanda has worked on a range of research projects within the Institute, predominantly relating to young people, drinking cultures, alcohol and substance use. She has a particular interest in media representations of substance use and is currently writing in this area (PhD by publication). Recent research projects Amanda has led include an ARUK funded project exploring the role of Social Network Sites (e.g. Facebook) in young people’s drinking cultures and gendered identities, and the 2011/2014 European School Survey on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD). She has experience of both qualitative and quantitative methods and has conducted research with a range of groups, including children and young people, substance users, prisoners, victims of domestic violence, young offenders, practitioners and media professionals. Her general research interests relate to youth leisure and health, gender, substance use and media representations of these issues. Amanda is also the UK coordinator for the EMCDDAs Early Warning System on New Psychoactive Substances (NPS, popularly known as ‘Legal Highs)’ and lead on both local and European research projects on NPS. She supervises a number of PhDs related to NPS and drug user identity

Research Interest

Public Health