What can a former professional dancer bring to the study of queer health? In this talk, Dr Anthony Gifford reflects on his unconventional journey from the performing arts to academia, exploring how challenging traditional expectations has shaped his approach to psychological research.
Drawing on his doctoral research into the psychosocial influences on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in the UK, Anthony will examine how identity, stigma, medical mistrust and other psychosocial factors shape engagement with biomedical HIV prevention. In doing so, he will consider why understanding health behaviours requires us to look beyond individual decision-making and recognise the wider social and psychological contexts in which these decisions occur.
The talk will then explore the potential of person-centred quantitative approaches, particularly Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), to advance LGBTQ+ psychological research. Drawing on findings from his own work, Anthony will demonstrate how LPA may bring to light meaningful patterns of attitudes and experiences that may be obscured by traditional variable-centred approaches. He will conclude by considering how these methods might help researchers move beyond treating LGBTQ+ populations as homogeneous groups, offering new opportunities to understand diversity, identify unmet needs and inform more responsive health interventions.
Open to all Social Sciences staff and students.
Location
Round the Green Table in Psychology, 6th Floor – Copland Building, Cavendish Campus
About the speaker
Dr Anthony Gifford
Dr Anthony Gifford is a psychologist with broad interests in sexual health and wellbeing, particularly among marginalised populations. His PhD research examined the psychosocial influences on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the UK, contributing to a deeper understanding of HIV prevention decision-making.
