About

I am a Senior Lecturer in Psychology with expertise in qualitative research methods. My primary research interests are language and social interaction in a range of settings using Conversation Analysis and Discursive Psychology.

Teaching responsibilities

My main areas of teaching are qualitative research methods, Forensic Psychology and Social Psychology. My main teaching responsibilities are in the following modules:

• Advanced Qualitative Methods (module leader)
• Qualitative Methods: The Individual in Society (module leader)
• Forensic Applications of Psychology (module leader)

I also lecture for a range of other modules on the BSc Psychology course.

Research interests

My main research interests are the analysis of ‘everyday interactions’ using Discursive Psychology and Conversation Analysis. I have particular interests in family interaction and investigative interviewing. Past research has examined interaction in police interviews with children reporting alleged sexual offences. My interests are how police officers follow and depart from advice outlined in official best practice guidelines.

I also have broad interests in sex and relationships, particularly in difficulties with sexual self-control. At present, I am involved in a project that explores the accounts of women who identify as sexually addicted and a second project focused on experiences of 12-step programmes for sex addiction.

Membership of professional bodies

• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Qualifications

Undergraduate qualifications

• BA (Hons) Psychology/Writing, Manchester Metropolitan University

Research qualifications

• MRes Psychology, The University of Manchester
• PhD Social Psychology, Loughborough University

Recent conferences

During the last few years, I have presented work on police interviews with children at a range of conferences and to police constabularies. In December 2022, I will be presenting an invited keynote speech on 'Constructing the Sex Addict' in Singapore. 

Additional interests and activities

• I established and organised the Annual Conference on Applied Qualitative Research series at the University of Derby

In the media

• BBC Radio Derby, Breakfast Show, The act of hugging returning after social distancing, May 2021
• BBC Radio Derby, Breakfast Show, The benefits of hugging, January 2021
• BBC Radio Derby, Breakfast Show, Touch deprivation during social distancing, June 2020
• BBC One, Inside Out, Tattoo stigma, March 2020
• BBC Radio Derby, Breakfast Show, The Mandella effect, July 2017

Recent publications

• Childs, C. & Holland, F. (in press) Young peoples’ lived experiences of shifts between face-to-face and smartphone interactions: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Journal of Youth Studies
• Childs, C. (2022, in press). Emotion in Conversation. In Schiewer, G., L., Altarriba, J., and Chin, N., B. (Eds.). Language and Emotion: An International Handbook. Berlin: De Gruyter
• Spenser, K., Childs, C., & Adkihari, J. (2021). WAF0042-Inquiry: Women in the Armed Forces: From Recruitment to Civilian Life. UK Parliament
• Parker, V., & Childs, C. (2019). Stresses, challenges, and rewards of home-based applied behaviour analysis intervention for children with an autism spectrum disorder. Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 1-10
• Childs, C., & Walsh, D. (2018) Paradoxical invitations: challenges in soliciting more information from child witnesses. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 51(4), 363-378
• Childs, C., & Walsh, D. (2017). Self-disclosure and self-deprecating self-reference: Conversational practices of personalization in police interviews with children reporting alleged sexual offences. Journal of Pragmatics, 121, 188-201
• Childs, C., & Hepburn, A. (2015). Emotion discourse. In Tileaga, C., Stokoe, E. (Eds.), Discursive Psychology: Classic and Contemporary Issues. London: Routledge
• Symeonides, R., & Childs, C. (2015). The personal experience of online learning: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Computers in Human Behaviour, 51, 539-545
• Childs, C. (2015). Formulations. In Tracy, K. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Language and Social Interaction. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell and International Communication Association.
• Childs, C. (2014). From reading minds to social interaction: Respecifying Theory of Mind. Human Studies, 37(1), 103-122
• Childs, C. (2012). ‘I’m not X, I just want Y’: Formulating ‘wants’ in interaction. Discourse Studies, 14(2), 181-196
• Childs, C. (2012). Directing and requesting: Two interactive uses of the mental state terms ‘want’ and ‘need’. Text and Talk, 32(6), 727-749
• Childs, C., & Murray, C. (2010). 'We all had an experience in there together': A discursive psychological analysis of collaborative paranormal accounts by paranormal investigation team members. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 7(1), 21-33