
Publications by year
Phd (Queensland University of Technology), Bachelor (Honours) (Queensland University of Technology), Bachelor of Social Science (Queensland University of Technology)
Associate Professor Patricia Obst has been an active researcher for almost 20 years and has over 70 publications in a variety of areas including:
- volunteering
- aging
- wellbeing
- sense of community
- contectedness and social support
- alcohol use in specific populations
- community engagement
Patricia completed a PhD by publication in the area of Community Psychology at QUT in 2005. Patricia is currently an Associate Professor with the School of Psychology and Counselling at QUT and is the Course Coordinator of the Honours Program. Her research activities have focused on the influence of social connectivity factors such as identification, sense of community and availability of social support on well being. She has also examined the dimensionality and valid measurement of these important constructs. Patricia has worked with a variety of groups and communities:
- neighbourhoods
- religious groups
- university students
- internet-based interest and support groups
- carers
During her time as a postdoctoral fellow at CARRS-Q, she also developed her research interests into the development of educational material to change behaviour in a number of areas including:
- women’s drinking behaviour
- road safety issues pertinent to 'grey nomads': those older Australians spending extensive periods of time touring the country.
Patricia also was a successful recipient of an ARC linkage grant examined motivations of retired professional’s to undertake episodic volunteering in rural areas. Research interests
- sense of community
- social support
- social identity theory
- applied social psychology
- behaviour change models
- women and alcohol
- volunteerism.
Research grants: ARC Linkage.Industry partner, Qld Department of Communitie (2009-2013).
- 'Responding to the rural skills crisis: Modelling volunteer motivations and incentives to attract retired/semi-retired professionals to volunteer in rural areas' Dr Patricia Obst, Dr Katy White, Aspro Jenifer Warburton (la Trobe) and Dr Nancy Spencer.
For Full Details Please see Patricia’s Curriculum Vitae
Additional information
Patricia has worked closely with a number of state government departments and community agencies as a part of both her research and teaching. These include the Department of Communities, Qld Health, The Public Service Commission, Volunteering Qld, and Carers Qld. Patricia has partnered with Volunteering Qld to present forums to bring researchers and practitioners together to discuss volunteering issues. Patricia has close contacts with a number of community organisations, through her research and work integrated learning activities.
- Type
- Advisor/Consultant for Industry
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- Consultant for Evaluation of Mentoring Beginner Teacher Program. Data Analysis and interpretation included in Qld Department of Education Briefing Document and Report
- Type
- Editorial Role for an Academic Journal
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- Associate Editor Role for SCImago Rated Q2 Australian Psychologist, the official applied practice and public policy journal of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). The journal aims to keep Australian psychologists informed about current issues in psychology, the science and practice of psychology, and psychology¿s contribution to public policy, with particular emphasis on the Australian context.
- Obst, T., Murray, K., Walbank, S., Kelly, R. & Brazel, D. (2022). Experiences of abuse in Australian family carers and predictors of mental health and well-being. Health and Social Care in the Community, 30(2), 476–487. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/203297
- Young, S., Shakespeare-Finch, J. & Obst, T. (2020). Raising a child with a disability: a one-year qualitative investigation of parent distress and personal growth. Disability and Society, 35(4), 629–653. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/132157
- Maulana, H., Khawaja, N. & Obst, T. (2019). Development and validation of the Indonesian Well-being Scale. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 22(3), 268–280. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/130940
- Obst, T., Shakespeare-Finch, J., Krosch, D. & Rogers, E. (2019). Reliability and validity of the Brief 2-Way Social Support Scale: an investigation of social support in promoting older adult well-being. Sage Open Medicine, 7, 1–10. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/127282
- Wright, E., White, K. & Obst, P. (2018). Facebook false self-presentation behaviors and negative mental health. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(1), 40–49. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/115586
- White, K., O'Connor, E., Longman, H., Obst, T. & Zhao, X. (2018). Game identity-based motivations of playing World of Warcraft and their psychological outcomes. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(10), 655–660. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/121207
- Cockshaw, W., Shochet, I. & Obst, P. (2014). Depression and belongingness in general and workplace contexts : a cross-lagged longitudinal investigation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 33(5), 448–462. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/72061
- Brayley, M., Obst, P., White, K., Lewis, I., Warburton, J. & Spencer, N. (2014). Exploring the validity and predictive power of an extended volunteer functions inventory within the context of episodic skilled volunteering by retirees. Journal of Community Psychology, 42(1), 1–18. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/59229
- Shakespeare-Finch, J. & Obst, P. (2011). The development of the 2-way social support scale: A measure of giving and receiving emotional and instrumental support. Journal of Personality Assessment, 93(5), 483–490. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/52181
- Obst, P., Smith, S. & Zinkiewicz, L. (2002). An Exploration of Sense of Community, Part 3: Dimensions and Predictors of Psychological Sense of Community in Geographical Communities. Journal of Community Psychology, 30(1), 119–133. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/603
- Title
- Developing Female Specific Intervention Strategies to Reduce the Alarming Levels of Risky Alcohol Consumption by Young Women
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- G1661/D2170
- Start year
- 2010
- Keywords
- Alcohol; Culture; Women
- Title
- Responding to the Rural Skills Crisis: Modelling Volunteer Motivations and Incentives to Attract Retired/semi-retired Professionals to Volunteer in Rural Areas
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP0990304
- Start year
- 2009
- Keywords
- Volunteer Motivations; Older Volunteers; Rural Sustainability; Productive Ageing; Rural Skills Shortages
- Perceptions and knowledge of obesity among Saudi women
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Margo Sendall - WHAT INFLUENCES SURVIVORS OF MULTIPLE NATURAL DISASTERS TO CONTINUE LIVING IN THE SAME DISASTER-PRONE LOCATION
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Dr Sam Toloo Sheikhzadeh Yazd, Dr Ros Darracott - Biopsychosocial factors associated with stress among first-year Psychology & Counselling university students
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Divya Mehta, Professor Ian Shochet - Pathways to Power: Group Physical Activity and Well-being in Women Impacted by Domestic or Family Violence
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Jane Shakespeare-Finch
- The Relationship Between Striving for Muscularity, Masculine Identitiy, and Steroid Use Among Young Men in Australia (2020)
- An Exploration of Psycho-Social and Cultural Factors of Well-Being in the Indonesian Context (2020)
- Learning from the Positive for Preventable Injury in the Workplace: Can Non-Deterrence Based Approaches Encourage Compliance? (2019)
- The Rewards and Challenges of Raising a Child with a Disability: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Parent Well-Being and Growth (2018)
- Exploring Cultural, Social and Psychosocial Influences on Women's Drinking across Age Cohorts. (2015)
- Developing a Model of Links between General and Workplace Belongingness and Depressive Symptoms (2014)
- Pathways to Peace: A phenomenological exploration of the processes of healing and posttraumatic growth following childhood sexual assault (2014)
- Modelling the Salient Factors Influencing Retired Business Professionals' Participation in Episodic Skilled Volunteering in Rural Settings (2013)