My research is related to developmental and health psychology.

• Autism
  Autism is a lifelong and complex condition. It affects individuals and their families in many different ways. My research covers a range of themes including:
  
  

  • Understanding and tackling bullying involvement: We know that children affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are more likely than their typically developing peers to encounter bullying situations. I am interested in exploring exactly how youth are involved. Do they experience physical, relational and or cyber forms of bullying? Where is bullying most likely to occur? And do youth recognize when they are being bullied?
  • Robot mediated social skills development: Alongside the KASPAR team at the University, projects are underway to explore the educational and therapeutic benefits of robot mediated interaction for young children with autism.
  • Parenting stress: Understanding caregiving and exploring strategies to enhance parental resilience and wellbeing.
• Health
  Research focuses on issues related to ethnicity and coping with long-term heath conditions such as Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), adherence to treatment regimes, ethnicity and organ donation, and patient decision aids. Projects:
  
  

  • A grant from the British Renal Society (2013-2014) to explore the experiences of South Asian patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).
  • Funding from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) (2014-2016) to highlight best practice in screening for depression in patients with ESRD from specific South Asian backgrounds.
  • Exploration of decision aids for patients with CKD.
  • Development of interventions aimed at encouraging discussions about organ donation amongst families from different ethnic backgrounds.
• Publications

  Jefferies, K., Sharma, S., Laws, K.R., Georgiou, G., & Gale, T. (In Press) To admit or not to admit? The effect of framing on risk assessment decision making in psychiatrists: Journal of Mental Health.

  Churchyard, J. S., Pine, K.J., Sharma, S., & Fletcher, B. (C). (2014). Same traits, different variance: Item-level variation within personality measures. SAGE Open, 4(1), 1-11. doi: 10.1177/2158244014522634.

  Lawrence, C., Sharma, S., Silva-Gane, M., Fletcher, B. (C)., & Farrington, K. (2013). Exploring the views of patients not on the transplant waiting list: A qualitative study. Journal of Renal Care, 39(2), 118-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-6686.2013.12012.x

  Sharma, S., Winter, D., & McCarthy, M. (2013). A Personal Construct Approach to Understanding Stress in Mothers of Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 26(1), p50-61. doi: 10.1080/10720537.2013.732534

  Churchyard, J. S., Pine, K. J., Sharma, S., & Fletcher, B. (C). (2013). Constructions by interpersonal context and relationship to psychological outcomes. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 26(4), p306-315. doi: 10.1080/10720537.2013.792301

  Sharma, S., Bhul, K., Chilcot, J., Wellsted, D., & Farrington, K. (2011). Identifying Depression in South Asian Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease: Considerations for Practice. Nephron Extra, 1, 262-271. doi: 10.1159/000331446