Tegan Cruwys
Biographic Data
| ID | 81292 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tegan Cruwys |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tegan |
| FAMILY NAME | Cruwys |
| SIGNATURE | CRUWYS T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian National University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5296-3480 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 79 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 568 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 78 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 12 |
Study Protocol: Connecting older adults through multi-level programmes for alleviating loneliness in Hong Kong older adults (Compass-HOA)
Background: Loneliness is a widespread global issue among older adults that negatively impacts physical and mental health, cognitive functioning, quality of life, and longevity, while also burdening society with healthcare costs. Resulting from factors at individual, interpersonal, and community levels. Multi-level interventions targeting these levels show promise in addressing this complex issue. Objective: This trial aims to develop, implement,…
‘It Completely Demolished My Sense of Who I Was’: Navigating Identity in the Aftermath of Sexual Violence
Sexual assault often has significant deleterious consequences for how people see themselves and how they are perceived by others. The purpose of this study was to explore how people make sense of their (social) identity following sexual assault. We sought to represent diverse experiences of sexual assault and broaden contemporary narratives. We interviewed 25 adults who had experienced sexual violence on their experiences of identity and subseque…
From Theory to Practice: Developing a Taxonomy of Identity Leadership Behaviours for Group Therapists
Group therapy is an effective treatment for a range of common mental health conditions. However, limited research has examined specific behaviours that therapists can engage in to help maximise and enhance the benefits of group therapy. We sought to address this by developing a taxonomy of therapist behaviours informed by identity leadership theory, a theoretical framework that has shown promise in helping to understand effective group facilitati…
Mental health, wellbeing, and burnout among practicing psychologists following Australian weather disasters and Covid-19
Tackling Loneliness, Ineffective Social Support, and Mental Ill‐Health Among People With Higher Weight
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: People with higher weight are at greater risk of experiencing loneliness and mental ill-health, in part due to challenging social networks that can be unsupportive of efforts to engage in positive health behaviours and a source of weight-based stigma and discrimination. Targeting this issue is a manualised intervention, Groups 4 Health (G4H), that helps people to optimise social connectedness and group-based belonging f…
Is trauma isolating, or does isolation traumatize? Loneliness and posttraumatic stress mutually reinforce one another in the aftermath of environmental disaster
These results speak to the importance of early response efforts that encourage collective recovery and community engagement in disaster management. This may support the long-term goal of preventing the onset of harmful cycles of loneliness and PTSD in the wake of traumatic experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
Leading by example: Experimental evidence that therapist lived experience disclosures can model the path to recovery for clients
A common guideline for self‐disclosure is that therapists should only share recovered personal experiences with clients (i.e., no longer distressing). However, theoretical rationale and empirical support for this claim is limited. Drawing on identity leadership theorizing, we investigated whether recovery disclosures are beneficial to the extent that they signal a therapist's aspirational prototypicality (i.e., embodiment of an aspirational ident…
I'm Very Lucky Because This Is Even Better: The Role of Social Identity Revitalisation in Recovery From Disaster
Evidence shows that meaningful social connections and social identities following trauma can support positive post‐trauma appraisals because they provide psychosocial resources needed for recovery. However, access to these resources is influenced by a process of social identity revitalisation— a change in the value and meaningfulness of these relationships and social identities. This study used a qualitative methodology to explore these social pr…
(Re‐)conceptualising Post‐Traumatic Growth: A Social Identity‐Informed Approach
Traditional models of post‐traumatic growth (PTG) focus mostly on the role of individual processes in its development, often at the cost of understanding processes other than individual‐level factors that can shape positive post‐trauma appraisals and recovery. In this perspectives piece, we seek to address this imbalance by developing an understanding of PTG that accounts for the ways that our membership of social groups pre‐ and post‐trauma affe…
It’s a very conflicting thing for me: How Having Immigrant Parents Shapes Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviours
Purpose As a significant minority, there are particular challenges faced by Asian immigrants that impact the well-being and mental health help-seeking. There is limited understanding about the help-seeking behaviours of second-generation and 1.5-generation Asian immigrants (those who immigrated as children), particularly in Australia. This study aims to explore how the identities of 1.5 and second-generation Asian Australians shape their help-see…
Nothing is so impactful as good theory: Evidence for the impact of the social identity approach to health on policy and practice
This research sought to evaluate the uptake of research on social identity and health among policymakers and practitioners. It also sought to identify the research outputs that have had the greatest impact and to understand the nature of their impact. Policy impact tools in Elsevier's SciVal institutional subscription were utilised in combination with Overton. We extracted all articles within the social identity approach to health topic 1996-2023…
New Groups and Post-Traumatic Growth: Experimental Evidence That Gaining Group Memberships Supports Recovery From Natural Disaster
This paper provides the first experimental test of whether two social identity model of traumatic identity change processes—(i) group membership gain, and (ii) group membership continuity—predict post-traumatic growth (PTG) and post-traumatic stress (PTS) via social identity revitalization. Participants ( N = 210, M age = 49.59 years) were adult flood survivors who were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: group membership gain, group m…
For better and worse? The divergent associations of LGBTQ+ identity importance and salience on mental ill-health in the context of discrimination
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other (LGBTQ+) individuals experience disproportionate levels of mental ill-health, with elevated levels of discrimination being a key contributor. While it is well documented that group-based discrimination is strongly related to poorer health among LGBTQ+ individuals, research also suggests that strongly identifying and/or connecting with a marginalized identity group can mediate this relationship…
Tackling loneliness together: A three-tier social identity framework for social prescribing
In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the threats to health posed by loneliness. One of the main strategies that has been recommended to address this is social prescribing (SP). This typically involves general practitioners (GPs) and other health practitioners directing clients who are experiencing loneliness and related conditions to take part in social activities—typically in recreational and community contexts. However, eviden…
Social Identity Mapping With Justice‐Involved Young People: Exploring Identity Pathways to Aid the Desistance of Criminal Offending
Social groups and the environments they create play a prominent role in the desistance versus persistence of young peoples' criminal offending. Social Identity Mapping (SIM) provides a quantitative method for understanding the social network of young offenders. This exploratory study was guided by two broad research questions: (1) using the SIM task, we wanted to investigate the experiences of young people moving through the Youth Justice System …
Identifying as a Survivor Versus a Victim After Sexual Violence Predicts Divergent Posttrauma Pathways
The present study investigated social identification with “survivors” versus “victims” following sexual violence and the degree to which this predicted posttraumatic growth versus posttraumatic stress. Participants ( N = 290) were adult women who had experienced sexual violence. As predicted, cumulative sexual trauma was positively associated with symptoms of both posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth. Further, people who had experienced …
Discrimination and social identity processes predict impairment and dysfunction among heavy drinkers
A mixed-methods investigation of weight bias reduction in medical students
We used a mixed-methods design to test a novel weight bias intervention and understand current attitudes toward people with higher weight and weight-inclusive care among medical students (N = 80). The intervention was embedded in curriculum and uniquely focused on delegitimising the use of weight as a heuristic for health. Almost half of participants (43.8%) responded to both pre- and post-intervention surveys. These participants found the interv…
Measuring “we‐ness” in couple relationships: A social identity approach
Research on couple relationships has increasingly focused on the concept of “we‐ness”, the subjective closeness of the couple bond, as crucial to predicting relationship outcomes including satisfaction and dissolution. However, diverging perspectives on the definition, terminology, and measurement of this concept persist. We drew upon social identity theorizing to clarify the nature of we‐ness and investigate its predictive utility. Participants …
Measuring civilian moral injury: Adaptation and validation of the Moral Injury Events Scale (Civilian) and Expressions of Moral Injury Scale (Civilian)
Results shed light on differential relationships between the type of MI event and clinical outcomes, suggesting some conceptual differences in how MI is experienced in general civilian populations. Results suggest that civilian populations are also susceptible to MI, but that existing measures may have problems capturing this effectively. While the MIES-C and EMIS-C are supported for civilian use, further scale construction efforts for this popul…
Disciplinary differences in the study of the relationship between social variables and mental health: A systematic mapping review
There has been sustained interest in the intersection between social constructs and mental health from diverse disciplines including psychiatry, sociology and public health. However, no systematic attempt has been made to catalogue what is meant by ‘social’ by different researchers, how variables deemed ‘social’ constructs are linked to mental health, nor whether these patterns differ by academic discipline. Understanding interdisciplinary differ…
Multiple group memberships protect against anticipatory anxiety for social situations
For people with social anxiety, ongoing exposure to feared situations is crucial for both treatment and the prevention of relapse. The COVID‐19 pandemic—with prolonged, often enforced, reductions in people's social contact—reduced such exposure and may thus have exacerbated social anxiety symptoms. In this three‐wave longitudinal study ( N = 212) we explored whether people's membership in multiple groups could protect against anticipatory anxiety…
Managing youth leisure mass gatherings: A coordinated service response for ‘Safer Schoolies’
Mass gatherings are a public health challenge because of crowdedness and associated health risks. ‘Schoolies’ is the largest youth leisure mass gathering in Australia. We examine a coordinated service response called ‘Safer Schoolies’, which aims to manage risks and optimise health and wellbeing for Schoolies attendees and the surrounding community. We examine ‘Safer Schoolies’ in a leisure context from a social identity theory-informed perspecti…
Are Parents the Key? How Parental Suicide Stigma and Suicide Literacy Affect Help-Seeking Attitudes and Intentions for their Child
Suicide is the leading cause of death among Australian young people, yet rates of help-seeking for suicidal ideation and behaviors in this population are concerningly low. In this study, the relationships between parental suicide stigma, parental suicide literacy, and their attitudes and intentions toward seeking professional help for their child if they were to express thoughts of suicide are investigated. Understanding this influence is critica…
Social identity makes group-based social connection possible: Implications for loneliness and mental health
Social group memberships protect against future depression, alleviate depression symptoms and prevent depression relapse
Advancing the social identity approach to health and well‐being: Progressing the social cure research agenda
The health of people's body and mind is powerfully conditioned by social factors that affect their social identity. Consistent with this notion, there is a growing interest in the way that group memberships (and the social identities derived from belonging to these groups) affect health and well‐being. To the extent that group memberships provide individuals with meaning, support, and agency (i.e., a positive sense of social identity), health is …
From “we” to “me: Group identification enhances perceived personal control with consequences for health and well-being
There is growing recognition that identification with social groups can protect and enhance health and well-being, thereby constituting a kind of "social cure." The present research explores the role of control as a novel mediator of the relationship between shared group identity and well-being. Five studies provide evidence for this process. Group identification predicted significantly greater perceived personal control across 47 countries (Stud…
Social identities promote well‐being because they satisfy global psychological needs
Social identities are known to improve well‐being, but why is this? We argue that this is because they satisfy basic psychological needs, specifically, the need to belong, the need for self‐esteem, the need for control and the need for meaningful existence. A longitudinal study ( N = 70) revealed that gain in identity strength was associated with increased need satisfaction over 7 months. A cross‐sectional study ( N = 146) revealed that social id…
The we's have it: Evidence for the distinctive benefits of group engagement in enhancing cognitive health in aging
Social Identities as Pathways into and out of Addiction
There exists a predominant identity loss and "redemption" narrative in the addiction literature describing how individuals move from a "substance user" identity to a "recovery" identity. However, other identity related pathways influencing onset, treatment seeking and recovery may exist, and the process through which social identities unrelated to substance use change over time is not well understood. This study was designed to provide a richer u…
Personal and Political: Post‐Traumatic Stress Through the Lens of Social Identity, Power, and Politics
Post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has always been controversial and highly politicized. Here, using a social identity approach, we review evidence that trauma and its aftermath are fundamentally linked to social position, sociopolitical capital, and power. We begin this contribution by demonstrating how a person's group memberships (and the social identities they derive from these memberships) are inherently linked to the experience of advers…
Social cure, what social cure? The propensity to underestimate the importance of social factors for health
Evidence that loneliness can be reduced by a whole-of-community intervention to increase neighbourhood identification
The source model of group threat: Responding to internal and external threats
We introduce a model of group threat that articulates the opposing effects of intergroup (between-groups) and intragroup (within-group) threat on identity processes and group relations. The source model of group threat argues that the perceived source of a threat is critical in predicting its consequences, such that perceptions of intergroup threat will strengthen (in)group identity processes and relations, whereas perceptions of intragroup threa…
Modeling of food intake is moderated by salient psychological group membership
Multiple Social Identities Enhance Health Post-Retirement Because They Are a Basis for Giving Social Support
We examine the extent to which multiple social identities are associated with enhanced health and well-being in retirement because they provide a basis for giving and receiving social support. Results from a cross-sectional study show that retirees (N = 171) who had multiple social identities following (but not prior to) retirement report being (a) more satisfied with retirement, (b) in better health, and (c) more satisfied with life in general. …
When trust goes wrong: A social identity model of risk taking
4,708) that use multiple methods including minimal group paradigms, correlational, longitudinal, and experimental designs to investigate the effect of shared social identity across diverse risk contexts. Studies 1 and 2 provided evidence for the basic premise of the model, showing that ingroup members were perceived as posing lower risk and inspired greater risk taking behavior than outgroup members. Study 3 found that social identification was a…
United We Stand, Divided We Fall: Sociopolitical Predictors of Physical Distancing and Hand Hygiene During the Covid‐19 Pandemic
Most health models emphasize individual factors in predicting health behavior. However, in the context of COVID‐19 where the immediate response to stopping the spread of the virus requires collective efforts and change, other sociopolitical factors need to be considered. Prior research points to health behaviors being impacted by neighborhood and national social relations, social identification, confidence in government and political orientation.…
Cultural Identity and the Expression of Depression: A Social Identity Perspective
The present research interrogates the greater tendency for Chinese people to somaticize depression relative to Westerners. Drawing from a social identity perspective, three studies were conducted examining the role that cultural norms play in symptom expression. In an initial study, we confirmed greater somatization, minimization of distress and suppression of emotional expression among Chinese participants compared with Australians (Study 1). As…
Group Ties Protect Cognitive Health by Promoting Social Identification and Social Support
Both studies provided evidence consistent with claims that group ties were especially beneficial because they cultivated social identification that provided the foundation for social support
Multiple social groups support adjustment to retirement across cultures
Non-stigmatising alternatives to anti-obesity public health messages: Consequences for health behaviour and well-being
This project investigated how alternative non-stigmatising public health messages influence people's health behaviours and well-being, relative to traditional stigmatising weight-loss messages. We conducted three experimental studies (total N = 1281) that compared traditional weight-loss messages to weight-neutral messages (Study 1), weight-inclusive messages (Study 2) and size acceptance messages (Study 3). Results revealed that public health me…
Multiple group membership supports resilience and growth in response to violence and abuse
This paper examines the role that social group processes, and multiple group membership in particular, play in supporting resilience and post‐traumatic growth following the experience of violence and abuse. Drawing on social identity theorizing, we develop and test a model that (a) predicts an association between multiple group membership and positive outcomes of resilience and post‐traumatic growth, and (b) explores mechanisms, of personal contr…
Neighbourhood identification buffers the effects of (de-)gentrification and personal socioeconomic position on mental health
The Importance of Social Groups for Retirement Adjustment: Evidence, Application, and Policy Implications of the Social Identity Model of Identity Change
Previous work in the social identity tradition suggests that adjustment to significant life changes, both positive (e.g., becoming a new parent) and negative (e.g., experiencing a stroke), can be supported by access to social group networks. This is the basis for the social identity model of identity change (SIMIC), which argues that, in the context of life transitions, well‐being and adjustment are enhanced to the extent that people are able to …
How can you make friends if you don't know who you are?” A qualitative examination of international students' experience informed by the Social Identity Model of Identity Change
This paper explores the contribution of social identity change to international students' health and well‐being. International students typically face a range of challenges from the time they leave their home country, including the need to adapt both to a new culture and norms and to a new educational landscape. Previous research informed by the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) suggests that during such life transitions, an indivi…
Group memberships and post-traumatic growth: How we connect determines how we recover
Social identity mapping online
721) featuring community, student, new parent, and retiree samples, test the reliability and validity of oSIM. Results indicate that the tool is easy to use, engaging, has good internal consistency as well as convergent and discriminant validity, and predicts relevant outcomes across a range of contexts. Furthermore, using meta-analytic findings, the tool is able to index a higher-order social identity construct, here introduced as a supergroup. …
Better together: How group-based physical activity protects against depression
Against the backdrop of evidence that physical activity can protect against depression, there has been growing interest in the mechanisms through which this relationship operates (e.g., biological adaptations), and the factors that might moderate it (e.g., physical activity intensity). However, no attempt has been made to examine whether, or through what mechanisms, depression-related benefits might arise from belonging to groups that engage in p…
Modeling of food intake is moderated by salient psychological group membership
Social group memberships protect against future depression, alleviate depression symptoms and prevent depression relapse
Depression and Social Identity: An Integrative Review
Social relationships play a key role in depression. This is apparent in its etiology, symptomatology, and effective treatment. However, there has been little consensus about the best way to conceptualize the link between depression and social relationships. Furthermore, the extensive social-psychological literature on the nature of social relationships, and in particular, research on social identity, has not been integrated with depression resear…
Feeling connected again: Interventions that increase social identification reduce depression symptoms in community and clinical settings
The we's have it: Evidence for the distinctive benefits of group engagement in enhancing cognitive health in aging
Breaking good: Breaking ties with social groups may be good for recovery from substance misuse
According to the Social Identity Model of Identity Change, maintaining social identities and support over time is good for health and well‐being, particularly during stressful transitions. However, in this study we explore the circumstances under which maintaining social identities – such as ‘substance user’ – may be harmful to health, and when a successful transition constitutes identity change, rather than maintenance. This prospective study ex…
Having a Lot of a Good Thing: Multiple Important Group Memberships as a Source of Self-Esteem
Membership in important social groups can promote a positive identity. We propose and test an identity resource model in which personal self-esteem is boosted by membership in additional important social groups. Belonging to multiple important group memberships predicts personal self-esteem in children (Study 1a), older adults (Study 1b), and former residents of a homeless shelter (Study 1c). Study 2 shows that the effects of multiple important g…
Social Identity Reduces Depression by Fostering Positive Attributions
Social identities are generally associated with better health and in particular lower levels of depression. However, there has been limited investigation of why social identities protect against depression. The current research suggests that social identities reduce depression in part because they attenuate the depressive attribution style (internal, stable, and global; e.g., “I failed because I’m stupid”). These relationships are first investiga…
Social modeling of eating: A review of when and why social influence affects food intake and choice
Group Ties Protect Cognitive Health by Promoting Social Identification and Social Support
Both studies provided evidence consistent with claims that group ties were especially beneficial because they cultivated social identification that provided the foundation for social support
The Stress of Passing Through an Educational Bottleneck: A Longitudinal Study of Psychology Honours Students
ObjectiveAn educational bottleneck occurs when students enter a phase of their training in which progression is highly competitive and determined by academic performance. We hypothesised that educational bottlenecks have a negative impact on student wellbeing, and investigated six potential protective factors.MethodA mixed‐method approach was used to explore the hitherto unstudied impact of bottlenecks on student wellbeing in a sample of psycholo…
From “we” to “me: Group identification enhances perceived personal control with consequences for health and well-being
There is growing recognition that identification with social groups can protect and enhance health and well-being, thereby constituting a kind of "social cure." The present research explores the role of control as a novel mediator of the relationship between shared group identity and well-being. Five studies provide evidence for this process. Group identification predicted significantly greater perceived personal control across 47 countries (Stud…
Social Identities as Pathways into and out of Addiction
There exists a predominant identity loss and "redemption" narrative in the addiction literature describing how individuals move from a "substance user" identity to a "recovery" identity. However, other identity related pathways influencing onset, treatment seeking and recovery may exist, and the process through which social identities unrelated to substance use change over time is not well understood. This study was designed to provide a richer u…
Groups 4 Health: Evidence that a social-identity intervention that builds and strengthens social group membership improves mental health
“Depression is who I am”: Mental illness identity, stigma and wellbeing
The social psychology of disordered eating: The Situated Identity Enactment model
Eating disorders and subclinical behaviours such as dangerous dieting are a significant public health burden in the modern world. We argue that a social-psychological model of disordered eating is needed to explain how sociocultural factors are psychologically represented and subsequently reflected in an individual’s cognitions and behaviour. We present evidence that three central elements shape disordered eating–social norms, social identity and…
Cultural Identity and the Expression of Depression: A Social Identity Perspective
The present research interrogates the greater tendency for Chinese people to somaticize depression relative to Westerners. Drawing from a social identity perspective, three studies were conducted examining the role that cultural norms play in symptom expression. In an initial study, we confirmed greater somatization, minimization of distress and suppression of emotional expression among Chinese participants compared with Australians (Study 1). As…
When group members go against the grain: An ironic interactive effect of group identification and normative content on healthy eating
Social identities promote well‐being because they satisfy global psychological needs
Social identities are known to improve well‐being, but why is this? We argue that this is because they satisfy basic psychological needs, specifically, the need to belong, the need for self‐esteem, the need for control and the need for meaningful existence. A longitudinal study ( N = 70) revealed that gain in identity strength was associated with increased need satisfaction over 7 months. A cross‐sectional study ( N = 146) revealed that social id…
Multiple Social Identities Enhance Health Post-Retirement Because They Are a Basis for Giving Social Support
We examine the extent to which multiple social identities are associated with enhanced health and well-being in retirement because they provide a basis for giving and receiving social support. Results from a cross-sectional study show that retirees (N = 171) who had multiple social identities following (but not prior to) retirement report being (a) more satisfied with retirement, (b) in better health, and (c) more satisfied with life in general. …
Advancing the social identity approach to health and well‐being: Progressing the social cure research agenda
The health of people's body and mind is powerfully conditioned by social factors that affect their social identity. Consistent with this notion, there is a growing interest in the way that group memberships (and the social identities derived from belonging to these groups) affect health and well‐being. To the extent that group memberships provide individuals with meaning, support, and agency (i.e., a positive sense of social identity), health is …
The New Psychology of Health: Unlocking the Social Cure
British Psychology Society Textbook of the Year 2020 Why do people who are more socially connected live longer and have better health than those who are socially isolated? Why are social ties at least as good for your health as not smoking, having a good diet, and taking regular exercise? Why is treatment more effective when there is an alliance between therapist and client? Until now, researchers and practitioners have lacked a strong theoretica…
Social connectedness improves public mental health: Investigating bidirectional relationships in the New Zealand attitudes and values survey
BACKGROUND: The importance of social connectedness in supporting public mental health is well established. However, the reverse causal pathway (that psychological ill-health leads to reduced social connectedness) remains a dominant perspective among mental health practitioners. Our analysis aimed to provide a rigorous test of the directionality of this relationship. METHOD: A cross-lagged panel analysis of a large longitudinal national probabilit…
The Importance of Social Groups for Retirement Adjustment: Evidence, Application, and Policy Implications of the Social Identity Model of Identity Change
Previous work in the social identity tradition suggests that adjustment to significant life changes, both positive (e.g., becoming a new parent) and negative (e.g., experiencing a stroke), can be supported by access to social group networks. This is the basis for the social identity model of identity change (SIMIC), which argues that, in the context of life transitions, well‐being and adjustment are enhanced to the extent that people are able to …
How can you make friends if you don't know who you are?” A qualitative examination of international students' experience informed by the Social Identity Model of Identity Change
This paper explores the contribution of social identity change to international students' health and well‐being. International students typically face a range of challenges from the time they leave their home country, including the need to adapt both to a new culture and norms and to a new educational landscape. Previous research informed by the Social Identity Model of Identity Change (SIMIC) suggests that during such life transitions, an indivi…
Psychology (71 works) · Social Psychology (59 works) · Social identity theory (36 works) · Medicine (35 works) · Social group (35 works) · Social Psychology (32 works) · Psychiatry (30 works) · Sociology (28 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (27 works) · Clinical Psychology (25 works)