Research areas

Since I first gained an interest in research, my main interests have been psychotraumatology, sex and gender. I was and am still puzzled about how little is known about sex and gender differences in PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders in spite of the potential of sex/gender to substantially impact risk, development, expression, course, and treatment of many of these disorders. For these reasons, I take a particular interest in sex/gender as a moderator of other associations – eg. whether the same risk factors are equally involved in male and female symptom development. My emphasis is placed equally on sex- and gender-related influences, including innate and physiological sex differences, gonadal hormones, reproductive status, gender role/identity, gender socialisation, etc. I believe that sex and gender influence each other in intricate ways making it impossible to study one without the other. I further believe that learning about sex and gender differences and similarities will help scientists and clinicians alike to improve identification, prevention, and treatment of a multitude of disorders, thereby enabling us to improve the quality of life for men and women. 

My psychotraumatological interests are not limited to a specific trauma type, but include several potentially traumatic events. These include, but are not limited to, sexual trauma, reproductive trauma, refugee trauma, and severe accidents. I have particular interests relating to the peritraumatic and acute response to such events, including the interplay between the physiological, endocrinological, and psychological response to stressful and traumatic events and their impact of subsequent symptom development. In addition to studying the impact of trauma on primary victims, I am also taking a special interest in the secondary victims of trauma, and how trauma affects the partners, families, and close friends of those directly exposed to traumatic events.