Professor Suzanne Skevington
Professor of Health Psychology
6 West 0.14C
Email: s.m.skevington@bath.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1225 38 6830
Profile
Suzanne Skevington holds a Personal Chair in Health Psychology at the University of Bath where she is Director of the World Health Organisation Centre for the Study of Quality of Life. Since 1992, Professor Skevington has been a Consultant to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse, and is a lead in their international multidisciplinary collaboration - the WHOQOL Group. The WHOQOL Group have used an innovative methodology that improves the international assessment of quality of life in health care and multinational clinical trials. Versions of the WHOQOL instruments are now available in around 50 languages. As a Fulbright Scholar (1995), she was resident in the School of Public Health, Univ. of Washington. More recently she has been Visiting Professor at Univ. of Oxford Department of Public Health (2004). She was Chair/Deputy of the British Psychological Society, Division of Health Psychology between 2000-2, and represented the Society at Ministerial meetings in Whitehall and 10 Downing Street during that time. She is author of ‘Psychology of Pain’ (Wiley, 1995/2010), co-author of 5 other volumes, and has published around 120 peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters and official reports.
Research interests
Suzie Skevington's key research interests can be summarised as international public health, cross-cultural research, and the assessment of quality of life and concepts of well-being. In addition to several major international projects at population levels in recent years, she is currently working on how quality of life information could best be used in decision making in primary care, and in special situations like continence care. As part of an EU funded grant with 22 countries, she has investigated how active ageing affects quality of life in England, and the the Alzheimer’s Society has supported studies on assessing quality of life of people with early dementia. Continuing interest in the lifespan involved teamwork on the quality of life of young children, and in adolescence. She has an active interest in the cultural impact of spirituality, religiousness and personal beliefs on quality of life during health care. Through work in 9 countries with collaborators at WHO, she has investigated how HIV affects quality of life, and has worked in Tanzania with UNAIDS on AIDS-competent communities. Recent publications include studies of well-being and social inequalities in poverty, particularly in the less developed countries of Bangladesh, Peru, Ethiopia and Thailand (ESRC funding). Other interests include psychosocial aspects of chronic pain, depression and dermatological conditions like psoriasis and acne. Most recent departures include work on environmental quality of life and health the impacts of biodiversity, with UNESCO and UNEP.
Teaching
Suzie Skevington set up the Masters in Health Psychology at University of Bath in the mid-1990s, and continues to teach on all modules of this course. She works closely with Masters, PhD and undergraduate students in areas of mutual research interest. She is responsible for developing a new Doctoral programme in health psychology which integrates the research for a PhD/MPhil with a doctoral certificate in health psychology practice. This new training will assist in developing the competences required for the final stage (Stage 2) in the chartering of health psychologists.
Publications
Book Sections
Parmesan, C., Skevington, S. M., Guegan, J. F., Jutra, P., Kellert, S. R., Mazumder, A., Roue, M. and Sharma, M., 2009. Biodiversity and health: the decision-making process. In: Sala, O., Meyerson, L. A. and Parmesan, C., eds. Biodiversity change and human health: from ecosystem services to spread of disease. Washington DC: Island Press, pp. 61-82.
Skevington, S. M., 2009. Quality of life, biodiversity and health: observations and applications. In: Sala, O., Meyerson, L. A. and Parmesan, C., eds. Biodiversity change and human health: from ecosystem services to spread of disease. Washington DC: Island Press, pp. 129-142.
Skevington, S.M., 2007. Invited Preface. In: Fleck, M.P.A., ed. Quality of Life Evaluation in Health: developments and applications of the WHOQOL in Brazil. Brazil: Editora da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul.
Skevington, S.M., 2007. Quality of Life. In: Fink, G. and Stepto, A., eds. Encyclopedia of Stress. Oxford: Elsevier, pp. 317-319.
Skevington, S.M., 2004. Pain & symptom perception. In: Kaptein, A. and Weinman, J., eds. Health Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 182-206.
Skevington, S.M. and Mason, V.L., 2003. Social influences on individual differences in responding to pain. In: Hadjistavropoulos, T. and Craig, K.D., eds. Pain: Psychological Perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 179-207.
Ecosse, E., Leplege, A., Bonicatto, S., Leung, K.F., Lucas, R., Patrick, D. and Skevington, S., 2002. Methodological issues using Rasch Models to develop a quality of life index. In: Rasch Measurement on the Health Sciences. Illinois: Institute for Objective Measurement Press.
Skevington, S.M., 2001. Breathlesness. In: Howarth, G. and Leaman, O., eds. Encyclopaedia of Death & Dying. London: Routledge.
Skevington, S.M., 2001. Pain. In: Howarth, G. and Leaman, O., eds. Encyclopaedia of Death & Dying. London: Routledge.
Articles
Skevington, S. and McCrate, F. M., 2012. Expecting a good quality of life in health. Assessing people with diverse diseases and conditions using the WHOQOL-BREF. Health Expectations, 15 (1), pp. 49-62.
O’Connell, K. A. and Skevington, S., 2012. An international quality of life instrument to assess wellbeing in adults who are HIV-Positive: a short form of the WHOQOL-HIV (31 items). AIDS and Behavio, 16 (2), pp. 452-460.
Skevington, S. M., Langdon, J. .E. and Giddins, G., 2012. 'Skating on thin ice?' consultant surgeon's contemporary experience of adverse surgical events. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 17 (1), pp. 1-16.
Ginieri-Coccossis, M., Rotsika, V., Skevington, S., Papaevangelou, S., Malliori, M., Tomaras, V. and Kokkevi, A., 2012. Forthcoming. Quality of life in newly diagnosed children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) and differences from typically developing children: A study of child and parent reports. Child: Care Health & Development
Rotsika, V., Coccossis, M., Vlassopoulos, M., Papaeleftheriou, E., Sakellariou, K., Anagnostopoulos, D. C., Kokkevi, A. and Skevington, S., 2011. Does the subjective quality of life of children with specific learning disabilities (SpLD) agree with their parents' proxy reports? Quality of Life Research, 20 (8), pp. 1271-1278.
Lucas-Carrasco, R., Skevington, S. M., Gómez-Benito, J., Rejas, J. and March, J., 2011. Forthcoming. Using the WHOQOL-BREF in persons with dementia. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 25 (4), pp. 345-351.
Coombs, E., Brosnan, M. J., Bryant-Waugh, R. and Skevington, S. M., 2011. An investigation into the relationship between eating disorder psychopathology and autistic symptomatology in a non-clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 50 (3), pp. 326-338.
Gillison, F. B., Standage, M. and Skevington, S. M., 2011. Motivation and body-related factors as discriminators of change in adolescents' exercise behavior profiles. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48 (1), pp. 44-51.
Molzahn, A. E., Kalfoss, M., Schick Makaroff, K. and Skevington, S., 2011. Comparing the importance of different aspects of quality of life to older adults across diverse cultures. Age and Ageing, 40 (2), pp. 192-199.
McGrath, E. J., Lovell, C. R., Gillison, F., Darvay, A., Hickey, J. R. and Skevington, S. M., 2010. A prospective trial of the effects of isotretinoin on quality of life and depressive symptoms. British Journal of Dermatology, 163 (6), pp. 1323-1329.
O'Connell, K. A. and Skevington, S. M., 2010. Spiritual, religious, and personal beliefs are important and distinctive to assessing quality of life in health: A comparison of theoretical models. British Journal of Health Psychology, 15 (4), pp. 729-748.
Skevington, S. M. and The WHOQOL Group,, 2010. Qualities of life, educational level and human development: an international investigation of health. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45 (10), pp. 999-1009.
Mason, V. L., Skevington, S. M. and Osborn, M., 2010. Assessing the properties of the WHOQOL-Pain: quality of life of chronic low back pain patients during treatment. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 26 (7), pp. 583-592.
Skevington, S. M., Norweg, S., Standage, M. and The WHOQOL-HIV Group,, 2010. Predicting quality of life for people living with HIV: international evidence from seven cultures. Aids Care-Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of Aids/Hiv, 22 (5), pp. 614-622.
Molzahn, A., Skevington, S., Kalfoss, M. and Makaroff, K. S., 2010. The importance of facets of quality of life to older adults: an international investigation. Quality of Life Research, 19 (2), pp. 293-298.
Gillison, F., Skevington, S., Sato, A., Standage, M. and Evangelidou, S., 2009. The effects of exercise interventions on Quality of Life in clinical and well populations: a meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 68 (9), pp. 1700-1710.
Mason, V. L., Skevington, S. M. and Osborn, M., 2009. A measure for quality of life assessment in chronic pain: preliminary properties of the WHOQOL-pain. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32 (2), pp. 162-173.
Skevington, S., 2009. Conceptualising dimensions of Quality of Life in poverty. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 19 (1), pp. 33-50.
Haywood, K. L., Garratt, A. M., Carrivick, S., Mangnall, J. and Skevington, S. M., 2009. Continence specialists use of quality of life information in routine practice: a national survey of practitioners. Quality of Life Research, 18 (4), pp. 423-433.
Gillison, F., Osborn, M., Skevington, S. and Standage, M., 2009. Exploring the experience of introjected regulation for exercise across gender in adolescence. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10 (3), pp. 309-319.
Mason, V. L., Mathias, B. and Skevington, S. M., 2008. Accepting low back pain: Is it related to a good quality of life? Clinical Journal of Pain, 24 (1), pp. 22-29.
Gillison, F., Standage, M. and Skevington, S., 2008. Changes in quality of life and psychological need satisfaction following the transition to secondary school. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, pp. 149-162.
Gillison, F., Skevington, S. and Standage, M., 2008. Exploring response shift in the quality of life of healthy adolescents over one year. Quality of Life Research, 17 (7), pp. 997-1008.
Camfield, L. and Skevington, S., 2008. On subjective well-being and quality of life. Journal of Health Psychology, 13 (6), pp. 764-775.
Mason, V. L., Skevington, S. M. and Osborn, M., 2008. The quality of life of people in chronic pain: Developing a pain and discomfort module for use with the WHOQOL. Psychology & Health, 23 (2), pp. 135-154.
Trigg, R., Jones, R. W. and Skevington, S. M., 2007. Can people with mild to moderate dementia provide reliable answers about their quality of life? Age and Ageing, 36 (6), pp. 663-669.
Naughton, F., Ashworth, P. and Skevington, S. M., 2007. Does sleep quality predict pain-related disability in chronic pain patients? The mediating roles of depression and pain severity. Pain, 127 (3), pp. 243-252.
Fleck, M.P. and Skevington, S.M., 2007. Explaining the meaning of the WHOQOL-SRPB. Revisita de Psiquiatria Clinica, 34 (1), pp. 67-69.
Trigg, R., Skevington, S. M. and Jones, R. W., 2007. How can we best assess the quality of life of people with dementia? The Bath Assessment of Subjective Quality of Life in Dementia (BASQID). Gerontologist, 47 (6), pp. 789-797.
Laidlaw, K., Power, M., Schmidt, S. and Skevington, S., 2007. The Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (AAQ): Development and psychometric properties. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22 (4), pp. 367-379.
O’Connell, K. and Skevington, S., 2007. To measure or not to measure? Reviewing the assessment of spirituality and religion in health-related quality of life. Chronic Illness, 3 (1), pp. 77-87.
Skevington, S. and Gillison, F., 2006. Assessing children’s quality of life in health and social services: Meeting challenges and adding value. Journal of Children's Services, 1 (2), pp. 42-51.
The WHOQOL-SRPB Group, and Skevington, S. M., 2006. A cross-cultural study of spirituality, religion and personal beliefs as components of quality of life. Social Science & Medicine, 62 (6), pp. 1486-1497.
Winkler, I., Matschinger, H., Angermeyer, M.C., Skevington, S. M. and The WHOQOL-Old Group,, 2006. Der WHOQOL−OLD: Ein Fragebogen zur interkulturellen Erfassung der Lebensqualität im Alter [The WHOQOL-Old – A questionnaire for the intercultural measuring of quality of life in the elderly]. Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie, 56 (20), pp. 63-69.
Skevington, S. M., Bradshaw, J., Hepplewhite, A., Dawkes, K. and Lovell, C. R., 2006. How does psoriasis affect quality of life? Assessing an Ingram-regimen outpatient programme and validating the WHOQOL-100. British Journal of Dermatology, 154 (4), pp. 680-691.
Gillison, F. B., Standage, M. and Skevington, S. M., 2006. Relationships among adolescents' weight perceptions, exercise goals, exercise motivation, quality of life and leisure-time exercise behaviour: a self-determination theory approach. Health Education Research, 21 (6), pp. 836-847.
Lee, S. Y., Song, X. Y., Skevington, S. and Hao, Y. T., 2005. Application of structural equation models to quality of life. Structural Equation Modeling - a Multidisciplinary Journal, 12 (3), pp. 435-453.
Power, M., Quinn, K., Schmidt, S., Skevington, S. and The WHOQOL-OLD Group,, 2005. Development of the WHOQOL-Old module. Quality of Life Research, 14 (10), pp. 2197-2214.
Skevington, S. M., Day, R., Chisholm, A. and Trueman, P., 2005. How much do doctors use quality of life information in primary care? Testing the Trans-Theoretical Model of behaviour change. Quality of Life Research, 14 (4), pp. 911-922.
Skevington, S., 2005. Letting them die: Why HIV/AIDS prevention programmes fail. Psychology & Health, 20 (2), pp. 273-274.
O'Connell, K. A. and Skevington, S. M., 2005. The relevance of spirituality, religion and personal beliefs to health-related quality of life: Themes from focus groups in Britain. British Journal of Health Psychology, 10, pp. 379-398.
Skevington, S. M., O'Connell, K. A. and Grp, W., 2004. Can we identify the poorest quality of life? Assessing the importance of quality of life using the WHOQOL-100. Quality of Life Research, 13 (1), pp. 23-34.
Skevington, S. M., Sartorius, N., Amir, M. and Grp, W., 2004. Developing methods for assessing quality of life in different cultural settings - The history of the WHOQOL instruments. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 39 (1), pp. 1-8.
Mason, V. L., Skevington, S. M. and Osborn, M., 2004. Development of a pain and discomfort module for use with the WHOQOL-100. Quality of Life Research, 13 (6), pp. 1139-1152.
Sanders, T. and Skevington, S., 2004. Participation as an expression of patient uncertainty: An exploration of bowel cancer consultations. Psycho-Oncology, 13 (10), pp. 675-688.
Skevington, S. M., Lotfy, M. and O'Connell, K. A., 2004. The World Health Organization's WHOQOL-BREF quality of life assessment: Psychometric properties and results of the international field trial - A report from the WHOQOL group. Quality of Life Research, 13 (2), pp. 299-310.
O'Connell, K. A., Saxena, S., Skevington, S. M. and Grp, W. H., 2004. WHOQOL-HIV for quality of life assessment among people living with HIV and AIDS: results from the field test. AIDS Care - Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, 16 (7), pp. 882-889.
Skevington, S. M. and Saxena, S., 2003. Preliminary development of the World Health Organisation’s Quality of Life HIV instrument (WHOQOL-HIV): analysis of the pilot version. Social Science & Medicine, 57 (7), pp. 1259-1275.
The WHOQOL-HIV Group, and Skevington, S. M., 2003. Initial steps to developing the World Health Organisation’s Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL) module for international assessment of HIV/AIDS. AIDS Care - Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV, 15 (3), pp. 347-357.
Sanders, T. and Skevington, S., 2003. Do bowel cancer patients participate in treatment decision-making? Findings from a qualitative study. European Journal of Cancer Care, 12 (2), pp. 166-175.
Skevington, S. M. and O'Connell, K. A., 2003. Measuring quality of life in HIV and AIDS: A review of the recent literature. Psychology & Health, 18 (3), pp. 331-350.
Jirojanakul, P., Skevington, S. M. and Hudson, J., 2003. Predicting young children's quality of life. Social Science & Medicine, 57 (7), pp. 1277-1288.
Stenner, P. H. D., Cooper, D. and Skevington, S. M., 2003. Putting the Q into quality of life; the identification of subjective constructions of health-related quality of life using Q methodology. Social Science & Medicine, 57 (11), pp. 2161-2172.
Skevington, S. M., 2002. Advancing cross-cultural research on quality of life: Observations drawn from the WHOQOL development. Quality of Life Research, 11 (2), pp. 135-144.
Saxena, S., Carlson, D., Billington, R., Orley, J., Skevington, S. M. and The WHOQOL Group,, 2001. The WHO quality of life assessment instrument (WHOQOL-Bref): the importance of its items for cross-cultural research. Quality of Life Research, 10 (8), pp. 711-721.
Skevington, S. M. and Wright, A., 2001. Changes in the quality of life of patients receiving antidepressant medication in primary care: validation of the WHOQOL-100. British Journal of Psychiatry, 178 (3), pp. 261-267.
Lamboray, J.-L. and Skevington, S., 2001. Defining AIDS Competence: a working model for practical purposes. Journal of International Development, 13 (4), pp. 513-521.
Skevington, S. M., Carse, M. S. and Williams, A. C. D., 2001. Validation of the WHOQOL-100: Pain management improves quality of life for chronic pain patients. Clinical Journal of Pain, 17 (3), pp. 264-275.
Reports/Papers
Parmesan, C. and Skevington, S. M., 2010. Biodiversity, Health and Well-Being: Critical Links. Discussion Paper. UNESCO, SCOPE and UNEP, (Policy Brief 11).
Skevington, S. M., Birdthistle, I. and Jones, J. T., 2003. Creating an Environment for Emotional and Social Well-Being: An important responsibility of a Health- Promoting and Child Friendly School. Geneva: World Health Organisation, (Information Series on School Health: Document 10).
Conference or Workshop Items
Llewellyn, A. and Skevington, S., 2011. Does completing a formal assessment of quality of life improve wellbeing? In: European Health Psychology Conference, 21-24 September 2011, Crete.
