Rate My Professor Clifford Stevenson

Professor Clifford Stevenson is Professor of Social Psychology in the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Trinity College Dublin and his MSc and PhD in Psychology from Lancaster University. Early in his career, he held research posts at Lancaster University and Queen’s University Belfast, including fellowships at the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University Belfast (2006-2007), and a Leverhulme Visiting Fellowship at Winchester University (2011-2012). He served as Lecturer at the University of Limerick (2007-2012), Senior Lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast (2012-2015) where he directed the Centre for Research on Political Psychology, and Reader at Anglia Ruskin University (2015-2016). Currently, he is also Distinguished Professor at Tohoku University (September 2025–August 2030), Scientific Director of the International Centre for Community-based Loneliness Prevention, and Visiting Professor at Hokkaido University.

Stevenson employs the Applied Social Identity Approach to study how group memberships influence coping with adversity. His pioneering research first examined the effects of community identification on health and wellbeing and established a theoretical foundation for group dynamics in social prescribing. Current projects explore group, cultural, and economic factors in loneliness; group-based suicide resilience; community interventions for loneliness reduction; and resilience to deprivation, diversification, and disasters. Funded by the Irish Research Council, Community Relations Council Northern Ireland, ESRC, AHRC, EPSRC, MRC, and NHS, this work involves collaborations across Ireland, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Iceland, India, Australia, and Japan. He has authored over 90 articles in social psychology, political psychology, community psychology, social geography, and public health journals. Key publications include “Diversity of group memberships predicts wellbeing: cross sectional and longitudinal evidence” (2026, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin), “Crossing the line: A boundary transgression model of resistance to desegregation” (2025, European Review of Social Psychology), “The Role of Ego-Resilience in the Social Identity Approach to Health” (2025, Social Psychological and Personality Science), “Older adults can re-appraise loneliness using a social connectivity app: a mixed method intervention study” (2025, Ageing and Mental Health), and “Manchester Stands United: Place-based identity facilitates resilience in the aftermath of a mass emergency” (forthcoming, British Journal of Social Psychology). He recently received a £750k Distinguished Professor Award from Tohoku University, supporting researchers at NTU and Tohoku to investigate national loneliness contexts. Stevenson supervises MSc, undergraduate, and PhD students on loneliness reduction, social prescribing, suicide prevention, and community resilience.