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Dr. Alina Paula Cosma

Research Fellow (Sociology)

 cosmaa@tcd.ie

 


Biography

Alina Cosma is a researcher with extensive experience in the design and management of cross-sectional health surveys focusing on child and adolescent health and well-being. Alina was awarded a PhD in Psychology in 2015 from Babes Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania. Since then, she has held post-doctoral positions at prestigious universities in the UK (University of St Andrews), Ireland (RCSI), the Netherlands (Utrecht University) and Czechia (Palacky University Olomouc). From 2011 onwards, Alina has been part of the cross-national survey Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) network where she is currently charring the Early Careers Group and the Mental Health and Wellbeing Focus group. Her previous line of work follows three main streams: time trends and predictors of change over time in adolescent health and mental health (within country and cross-countries), social and structural determinants (at individual and country level) for adolescent health and health and well-being in vulnerable populations (i.e., sexual minorities and adolescents with an immigration background). She has published as first author and co-author, a wide range of original research articles (close to 40 peer-reviewed publications), briefing papers, national and international reports (including the latest 2018 HBSC International Report), research protocols, fact-sheets and book-chapters about child and adolescent health and well-being. During her Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (Project GenerationZ) she will explore contemporary perspectives on adolescent mental health. More specifically, GenerationZ aims to to i) investigate within-individual changes in mental health as young people progress through adolescence using Growing up in Ireland data, and ii) to test cross-national variation and trends in population-level adolescent mental health across 45 European countries using Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) data.

Research Tags

  ADOLESCENT   Adolescent Health   Adolescent Psychology   Adolescents   BULLYING   Child and adolescent health   Child and Adolescent Mental Health   Cross-Cultural Studies   Cyberbullying   Emotional/Mental Health--Child/Adolescent

Research Projects

 GenerationZ

Languages

Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
French Medium Medium Medium
German Fluent Fluent Fluent
Romanian Fluent Fluent Fluent

Memberships

Membership of Professional Institutions, Associations, Societies

Details Date From Date To
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2011
International Association for Adolescent Health (IAAH) 2019
Alina Cosma, Measurement Invariance of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index: Evidence from 15 European Countries , International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, (16), 2022, Notes: [ https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169798], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  DOI
Alina Cosma, Gender Differences in Bullying Reflect Societal Gender Inequality: A Multilevel Study With Adolescents in 46 Countries, Journal of Adolescent Health, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text  URL
Cosma A., Kolto A., Young H., Thorsteinsson E., Godeau E., Saewyc E., Nic Gabhainn S., Romantic love and involvement in bullying and cyberbullying in 15-year-old adolescents from eight European countries and regions, Journal of LGBT Youth, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Cosma A., Elgar F.J., de Looze M., Canale N., Lenzi M., Inchley J., Vieno A., Structural gender inequality and gender differences in adolescent substance use: A multilevel study from 45 countries, SSM - Population Health, 19, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Cosma, Measuring negative emotional responses to climate change among young people in survey research: a systematic review protocol, 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL  URL
Heinz, Andreas, Sischka, Philipp E., Catunda, Carolina, Cosma, Alina, García-Moya, Irene, Lyyra, Nelli, Kaman, Anne, Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike, Pickett, William, Item response theory and differential test functioning analysis of the HBSC-Symptom-Checklist across 46 countries, BMC Medical Research Methodology, 22, (1), 2022, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Bersia, Michela, Charrier, Lorena, Berchialla, Paola, Cosma, Alina, Comoretto, Rosanna Irene, Dalmasso, Paola, The Mental Well-Being of Italian Adolescents in the Last Decade through the Lens of the Dual Factor Model, Children, 9, (12), 2022, p1981 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Boer M., van den Eijnden R.J.J.M., Finkenauer C., Boniel-Nissim M., Marino C., Inchley J., Cosma A., Paakkari L., Stevens G.W.J.M., Cross-national validation of the social media disorder scale: findings from adolescents from 44 countries, Addiction, 117, (3), 2022, p784 - 795, p784-795 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Delaruelle K., Walsh S.D., Dierckens M., Deforche B., Kern M.R., Currie C., Maldonado C.M., Cosma A., Stevens G.W.J.M., Mental Health in Adolescents with a Migration Background in 29 European Countries: The Buffering Role of Social Capital, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50, (5), 2021, p855 - 871, p855-871 , Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
Cosma A., Pavelka J., Badura P., Leisure time use and adolescent mental well-being: Insights from the COVID-19 Czech spring lockdown, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, (23), 2021, Journal Article, PUBLISHED  DOI
  

Page 1 of 4
nchley J, Currie D, Budisavljevic S, Torsheim T, Jåstad A, Cosma A et al., Spotlight on adolescent health and well-being. Findings from the 2017/2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in Europe and Canada. International report. Volume 1. Key findings, WHO Regional Office for Europe, June, 2020, p1 - 72, Notes: [HEALTH BEHAVIOR HEALTH STATUS DISPARITIES SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS GENDER ADOLESCENT HEALTH CHILD HEALTH ADOLESCENT CHILD], Report, PUBLISHED

  

Awards and Honours

Award Date
"The study of trends in Health Behavior in School Aged Children (HBSC) research"- Ref. Scholarships 08/2021 at University of Padova, Department of Psychology and Socialization 2021
ZonMw: Gender in Research Fellowship: attending the research summer school on Gender in Health Research organized by Erasmus Summer Program, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2019
Basel Winter School Scholarship: On Leadership and Professional Skills for Psychologists and Psychiatrists 2018
Stefan Goanga Prize for best Psychology PhD thesis at Department of Psychology, Babes Bolyai University, Romania 2015
Scholarship for attending the EARA-SRA Adolescent Development Summer School, Utrecht, Netherlands 2014
Scholarship for attending the ISBBD Regional Workshop- Adolescent Development, Budapest, Hungary 2013
PhD- National Scholarship from Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania 2011-2015
Merit based scholarship from Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca, Romania 2007-2011

Research Interests

Description Of Research Interests

adolescent mental health; adolescent health and well-being; gender; cross-national comparisons; bullying; climate change anxiety