Welcome to C-Map (Mapping causal pathways to mental health)
We are a laboratory at the Research Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology, at University College London.
We are interested in tracing causal pathways from early risk factors to the development of mental health difficulties in childhood and adolescence. To this end, we study the influences of genetic and environmental early risk factors (e.g. bullying victimisation, and family adversity) on a variety of mental health outcomes. We adopt an interdisciplinary approach building on several disciplines including developmental psychopathology, epidemiological psychiatry and biology. In particular, we implement innovative methods for causal inference in big datasets, building on statistical innovation and genetically informative designs. In collaboration with national and international colleagues, we then seek to further characterize these causal pathways by investigating possible underlying biological mechanisms (e.g. cognitive profiles, epigenetics). More on our Research page.