Francesca is a PhD student at UCL Division of Biosciences and is a psychology graduate with an MSc in Clinical Mental Health Sciences achieved at the same university. Francesca's main research interests include understanding the aetiology and development of mental health disorders, such as eating disorders. In particular, she is interested in exploring the underlying mechanisms, e.g. reward and punishment sensitivity, as well as the behavioural aspects involved in people’s motivation and actions. Besides this, she would like to write a book targeting mental health and travel around the world to constantly expand her horizons.
Francesca Bentivegna summarises a recent review which suggests that schizophrenia, “personality disorders” and psychopathy may be linked to reading skills deficits in some people.
Francesca Bentivegna summarises a meta-analytic review exploring atypical social reward anticipation as a transdiagnostic characteristic of psychopathology.
Francesca Bentivegna reviews a national retrospective cohort study which explores the prevalence of maternal mental illness among children and adolescents in the UK during 2005-2017.
Francesca Bentivegna reviews a recent Australian study which finds a significant association between social media use and disordered eating in young adolescents.
Francesca Bentivegna explores a timely RCT concluding that delivering internet-based (email) CBT for health anxiety is non-inferior to face to face CBT in the short-term. The study also concludes that iCBT is more cost-effective.
Francesca Bentivegna summarises a recent UK longitudinal study, which examines the relationship between fruit and vegetables consumption and wellbeing.
Francesca Bentivegna summarises a recent study of the benefits of reading for pleasure in childhood, which finds an association 3 years later with consuming more fruit and being less exposed to both cigarette and alcohol use.
Francesca Bentivigna summarises a systematic review that explores the associations of child and adolescent anxiety with later alcohol use and disorders.
Francesca Bentivegna and Dafni Katsampa summarise a recent mixed methods study, which looks at the mental health benefits of purposeful activities in public green spaces in urban and semi-urban neighbourhoods.
