PhD student on Personality, Romantic Relationships, and Health

9 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Tilburg University

Research Field

Cultural studies

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country

Netherlands

Application Deadline

28 Apr 2024 – 21:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Not Applicable

Hours Per Week

40.0

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The Department of Developmental Psychology at Tilburg University is looking for an enthusiastic PhD student on the project ‘The Interplay of Personality, Romantic Relationships, and Health across the Lifespan’.

Project description
In this project we want to investigate the role of romantic relationships as a resource for mental and physical health. We are particularly interested in how the personality of both partners (e.g., traits, attachment styles) interact with each other and affect relationship interactions (e.g., conflict, intimacy, support, joint activities), and consequently daily and long-term experienced stress, affect, and markers of mental and physical health. 

We plan to use existing panel data and conduct a daily diary study in young couples. With the panel data, we want to investigate the long-term associations between personality, romantic relationship quality, and both physical and mental health over several years – with a focus on how they affect each other over time and at what phase of the lifespan the associations are most pronounced. We then aim to explore romantic relationship dynamics in more detail by employing a dyadic daily diary approach, assessing the romantic partners’ interactions (e.g., support, conflict, intimacy) and health-related behaviors (e.g., cooking, sports) over the course of several weeks. We want to better understand how this is influenced by the personalities of both partners and, in turn, what effects it has on their physical and mental health (e.g., BMI; sick days; pain; stress; subjective and psychological well-being). 

Job description
The 4-year PhD project is at the Department of Developmental Psychology. Responsibilities include: 

• Planning and executing data collection, independently conducting complex longitudinal data-analyses (e.g., latent growth curve modelling)
• Active participation in the team involved in this project and in the Department of Developmental Psychology (e.g., by attending departmental meetings)
• Writing international scientific publications
• Presenting at international scientific conferences and disseminating findings to a non-scientific audience (e.g., policy makers and mental health care professionals)
• Teaching and supervision (e.g., supervision of bachelor theses, max 0.2 FTE)

Requirements
Specific Requirements

We look for a highly motivated, inquisitive, enthusiastic, and proactive PhD student. Applicants must have a relevant MSc degree (preferably a research master), for example in developmental, personality, social or organizational psychology, sociology, or in social/health sciences. 

• Interest in conducting high-quality research on personality, relationships, and health
• Interest in open science and preregistration
• Excellent research skills and quantitative data analytical abilities, including in-depth knowledge of statistical programs (e.g., SPSS, Mplus or R)
• Interested in learning and applying more advanced statistical methods
• Excellent project management and organization skills
• Excellent communication and cooperation skills and the willingness to work in a team
• Proficiency in English (Dutch is a plus but not necessary)
• Interest in providing small-scale education, such as working groups and bachelor thesis supervision

Additional Information
Benefits

The PhD candidate will be employed by Tilburg University, which is among the top of the Dutch employers and has an excellent policy concerning terms of employment. The appointments are intended to lead to the completion of a PhD thesis. The PhD appointment begins with a period of 12 months. Continuation of the appointment with another 36 months will be based on performance evaluation. The gross salary for the PhD position amounts to € 2.770,- per month in the first year, rising to € 3.539,- per month in the fourth year, based on a full-time appointment.

You are entitled to a vacation allowance of 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross annual income. If you work full-time (40 hours per week), you will receive 41 paid days of leave per year.

All employees of the university are covered by the so-called General Pension Fund for Public Employers (Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP). Researchers from outside the Netherlands may be eligible for a tax-free allowance of 30% of their taxable salary. The university applies for this allowance on their behalf. 

Tilburg University offers excellent employment conditions with attention to flexibility and (personal) development and attractive fringe benefits.

Please visit working at Tilburg University  for more information on our terms of employment. 

Selection process

We invite you to apply online for this position by April 28, 2024. 

Applicants should send their CV, official grade list, and a cover letter including a description of the motivation (a sample paper and/or the MSc or BSc thesis are optional). 

Interviews will be held in the week of May 13, 2024. The preferred starting date for this position is September 1st, 2024.

Additional comments

The PhD student will be supervised by Dr. Manon van Scheppingen, Dr. Gabriel Olaru and Dr. Eeske van Roekel, from the Department of Developmental Psychology. Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from: Dr. Manon van Scheppingen ([email protected] ) and Dr. Gabriel Olaru ([email protected] ). 

Website for additional job details

https://www.academictransfer.com/338794/

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Country

Netherlands

City

Tilburg

Postal Code

5037 AB

Street

Warandelaan 2

Geofield

Where to apply

Website

https://www.academictransfer.com/en/338794/phd-student-on-personality-romantic-…

Contact

City

Tilburg

Website

http://www.uvt.nl/

Street

Warandelaan 2

Postal Code

5037 AB

STATUS: EXPIRED