![Caitlyn Donaldson BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/10223?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Caitlyn Donaldson
BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Teams and roles for Caitlyn Donaldson
Academic and research staff
School of Social and Spatial Sciences
Overview
I am a research associate at Cardiff University, based across DECIPHer and the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health. My research focuses on children and young people’s mental health outcomes within the context of primary and secondary schools. I am particularly interested in the transition from primary to secondary school and how different aspects of the school environment support mental health. My expertise is in analysing large datasets using multilevel and latent class models, as well as systematic review methodology.
I am passionate about supporting researcher development and am a member of the Learned Society of Wales’ advisory group for researcher development and also run the DECIPHer PhD student mentoring group. I was recently awarded the Learned Society of Wales' inaugural Hywel Thomas Early Career Researcher Prize for Research Culture and Community Development, reflecting my commitment to supporting researchers at all career stages and fostering inclusive, collaborative, and supportive research environments.
Publication
2026
- Bagnall, C. L. et al., 2026. A mixed-methods study of how to improve primary-secondary transitions in England: combining academic research with policy and practice consultation. Educational Psychology Review 38 98. (10.1007/s10648-026-10174-z)
- Bagnall, C. L. et al., 2026. A mixed-methods study of how to improve primary-secondary transitions in england: combining academic research with policy and practice consultation. Educational Psychology Review 38 (1) 98. (10.1007/s10648-026-10174-z)
- Brown, R. et al. 2026. Student perceptions of people and places in their school that are influential for mental health and emotional wellbeing, and implications for wellbeing policies in Wales. Wellbeing, Space and Society 10 100333. (10.1016/j.wss.2025.100333)
2025
- Evans, R. et al. 2025. Peer support and community interventions targeting breastfeeding in the UK: Systematic review of qualitative evidence to identify inequities in participants’ experiences. Maternal and Child Nutrition 21 (4) e70041. (10.1111/mcn.70041)
- Donaldson, C. , Hawkins, J. and Moore, G. 2025. Individual and school environment predictors of mental health and wellbeing across the primary-to-secondary school transition. School Mental Health 17 , pp.890-902. (10.1007/s12310-025-09776-9)
- Donaldson, C. et al. 2025. Associations of perceived school and year group climate with mental health among children aged 7-to-11 years. Child Indicators Research 18 (2), pp.885-904. (10.1007/s12187-024-10213-7)
- Donaldson, C. et al. 2025. Trajectories of mental health across the primary to secondary school transition. JCPP Advances 5 (1) e12244. (10.1002/jcv2.12244)
2024
- Moore, G. et al. 2024. School and family level socioeconomic status, school connectedness and health and wellbeing among 9-11 year olds: cross sectional analysis of the Student Health and Wellbeing Survey in Wales. Child Indicators Research (10.1007/s12187-024-10179-6)
- Donaldson, C. et al. 2024. Mental health, bullying and school connectedness: a comparative analysis of school transition at age 11 from within the Welsh education system. British Educational Research Journal 50 (3), pp.1533-1555. (10.1002/berj.3985)
2023
- Donaldson, C. , Moore, G. and Hawkins, J. 2023. Conceptualising the primary to secondary school transition within the theoretical framework of ecosocial theory. International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions 2 (1), pp.1-17. 19. (10.5334/ijelt.61)
- Donaldson, C. , Moore, G. and Hawkins, J. 2023. A systematic review of school transition interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes in children and young people. School Mental Health 15 , pp.19-35. (10.1007/s12310-022-09539-w)
- Littlecott, H. J. et al., 2023. Perceptions of friendship, peers and influence on adolescent smoking according to tobacco control context: A systematic review and meta-ethnography of qualitative research. BMC Public Health 23 424. (10.1186/s12889-022-14727-z)
2022
- Donaldson, C. 2022. Transition from primary to secondary school and young people’s mental health. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
Articles
- Bagnall, C. L. et al., 2026. A mixed-methods study of how to improve primary-secondary transitions in England: combining academic research with policy and practice consultation. Educational Psychology Review 38 98. (10.1007/s10648-026-10174-z)
- Bagnall, C. L. et al., 2026. A mixed-methods study of how to improve primary-secondary transitions in england: combining academic research with policy and practice consultation. Educational Psychology Review 38 (1) 98. (10.1007/s10648-026-10174-z)
- Brown, R. et al. 2026. Student perceptions of people and places in their school that are influential for mental health and emotional wellbeing, and implications for wellbeing policies in Wales. Wellbeing, Space and Society 10 100333. (10.1016/j.wss.2025.100333)
- Evans, R. et al. 2025. Peer support and community interventions targeting breastfeeding in the UK: Systematic review of qualitative evidence to identify inequities in participants’ experiences. Maternal and Child Nutrition 21 (4) e70041. (10.1111/mcn.70041)
- Donaldson, C. , Hawkins, J. and Moore, G. 2025. Individual and school environment predictors of mental health and wellbeing across the primary-to-secondary school transition. School Mental Health 17 , pp.890-902. (10.1007/s12310-025-09776-9)
- Donaldson, C. et al. 2025. Associations of perceived school and year group climate with mental health among children aged 7-to-11 years. Child Indicators Research 18 (2), pp.885-904. (10.1007/s12187-024-10213-7)
- Donaldson, C. et al. 2025. Trajectories of mental health across the primary to secondary school transition. JCPP Advances 5 (1) e12244. (10.1002/jcv2.12244)
- Moore, G. et al. 2024. School and family level socioeconomic status, school connectedness and health and wellbeing among 9-11 year olds: cross sectional analysis of the Student Health and Wellbeing Survey in Wales. Child Indicators Research (10.1007/s12187-024-10179-6)
- Donaldson, C. et al. 2024. Mental health, bullying and school connectedness: a comparative analysis of school transition at age 11 from within the Welsh education system. British Educational Research Journal 50 (3), pp.1533-1555. (10.1002/berj.3985)
- Donaldson, C. , Moore, G. and Hawkins, J. 2023. Conceptualising the primary to secondary school transition within the theoretical framework of ecosocial theory. International Journal of Educational and Life Transitions 2 (1), pp.1-17. 19. (10.5334/ijelt.61)
- Donaldson, C. , Moore, G. and Hawkins, J. 2023. A systematic review of school transition interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing outcomes in children and young people. School Mental Health 15 , pp.19-35. (10.1007/s12310-022-09539-w)
- Littlecott, H. J. et al., 2023. Perceptions of friendship, peers and influence on adolescent smoking according to tobacco control context: A systematic review and meta-ethnography of qualitative research. BMC Public Health 23 424. (10.1186/s12889-022-14727-z)
Thesis
- Donaldson, C. 2022. Transition from primary to secondary school and young people’s mental health. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
Research
My current research has a number of different strands. I analyse large-scale quantitative school survey datasets to explore children and young people's school experiences and their impacts on mental health, primarily through analysis of School Health Research Network (SHRN) School Health Research Network data in Wales. Current projects examine associations between home and school language use and mental health outcomes, the role of school and year-group climate in mental health, and changes in school connectedness over time.
Through my role with the Wolfson Centre for Young People's Mental Health Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health - Cardiff University, I am leading the analysis of SHRN data to support the evaluation of the Whole School Approach to Emotional and Mental Wellbeing in Welsh primary and secondary schools, assessing its potential impact on pupil wellbeing.
In addition, I am a data analyst for the Flourish intervention in Moldova and North Macedonia, an international project that aims to prevent and reduce adolescent mental health difficulties through Parenting for Lifelong Health (PLH) programmes, which provide evidence-based parenting support in low-resource settings. This involves quantitative and qualitative analyses of process evaluation data.
Alongside these projects, I continue to collaborate with researchers across UK universities on studies exploring young people's experiences of school transition and their implications for wellbeing and educational outcomes.
In 2025, I was part of a team of researchers from the University of Newcastle, University of Oxford, University of Manchester and Teeside University, who received funding from the NIHR-funded mental health research incubator to develop a school mental health and addiction research network for early and mid career researchers. The network, 'SHARE', will be launched in September 2026 and will build capacity within school mental health research. To sign up to the network, go to: Sign up to the SHARE Network
Biography
I am currently a research associate at Cardiff University, based across DECIPHer and the Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health.
I completed my PhD at the end of 2022 looking at the transition from primary to secondary school and young people’s mental health. Since completing my PhD, I have worked across a range of research projects and programmes, including the expansion of the School Health Research Network in Wales into primary schools, the evaluation of the Whole School Approach to Emotional and Mental Wellbeing, and delivering NIHR-funded systematic reviews within DECIPHer.
I am currently providing analytical support for the evaluation of the Flourish parenting for lifelong health intervention in Moldova and North Macedonia.
Prior to my PhD I worked for the third sector in academic publishing and public health research having completed my BSc(Hons) in Human Sciences from University College London in 2004, and my MSc in Social Research Methods from the Open University in 2014.
Honours and awards
- 2026 winner of the Hywel Thomas prize for Research Culture and Community Development https://www.learnedsociety.wales/inspiring-mentor-receives-inaugural-hywel-thomas-prize/
Professional memberships
I am a member of the Cardiff University EMPOWER gender equality network, the British Academy early career researcher network and the GW4 children and young people’s mental health network. In early 2026 I completed the NIHR-funded mental health incubator peer coaching (PeCo) programme and have recently completed the Wellcome-funded Cardiff University Ignite research culture development programme.
Speaking engagements
· 22nd June 2026, International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD) conference, Incheon, South Korea. Trends in student perceptions of school connectedness in Welsh primary and secondary schools from 2001-2024.
· 22nd April 2026, Educational Transitions Across the Lifespan (Pontio-ETAL) research group, Cardiff Met University. The transition from primary to secondary school and young people’s mental health.
· 28th January 2026, School Health Research Network webinar to schools. Learner School Connectedness and Wellbeing: Evaluation of the Whole School Approach to Emotional and Mental Wellbeing. Learner School Connectedness and Well-being: Evaluation of the WSAEMW
· 27th January 2026, Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention (CEBI), Oxford University. The transition from primary to secondary school and young people’s mental health: overview and next steps.
· 21st August 2025, International Conference on Educational and Life Transitions, Dundee University. Transition from primary to secondary school: Individual and school environment predictors of mental health and wellbeing.
· 30th April 2025, School Health Research Network webinar to schools. The Role of School Environment in Learners' Mental Health During the Transition from Primary to Secondary School. Role of School Environment in Learners' Mental Health During Transition from Primary to Secondary - YouTube
· 3rd December 2024, EMPOWER network conference, Cardiff. From third sector to academia. Poster presentation.
· 30th October 2024, Cardiff University Doctoral Academy Forum, Panellist. Mind-Body Interactions: The Dynamic Relationship Between Physical Health and Mental Wellbeing.
· 18th September 2024, CLOSER ECR conference, London. Trajectories of mental health across the primary to secondary school transition.
· 11th September 2024, British Educational Research Association (BERA) conference, Manchester University. Mental health, bullying and school connectedness: A comparative analysis of school transition from within the Welsh education system.
· 18th June 2024, Flash talk presentation – Learned Society of Wales ECR conference, Bangor University. Creating a healthier Wales: Child mental health and the role of schools.
· 14th May 2024, The OU Centre for Children’s Wellbeing. School transition interventions and young people’s mental health: A systematic review.
· 19th March 2024, School Health Research Network webinar to schools. School transition, socioeconomic status and mental health. School Transition: Socioeconomic Status and Mental Health.
· 6th December 2023, Research Centre for Transformative Change: Educational & Life Transitions (TCELT), Dundee University. Conceptualising the Primary to Secondary School Transition within the Theoretical Framework of Ecosocial Theory.
· 14th, 15th, 23rd November 2023, Schools in Vale of Glamorgan primary-secondary school clusters. An introduction to the School Health Research Network.
· 13th September 2023, British Educational Research Association (BERA) conference, Aston University. School transition interventions and young people’s mental health: A systematic review.
· 6th July 2023, Poster Presentation – Learned Society of Wales ECR conference, Swansea University. High jumping into secondary education: School transition and health inequalities. Awarded: 2nd place.
· 25th May 2022, Breaking Boundaries, Doctoral Academy Cardiff University: Predictors of mental health across the transition to secondary school. Awarded: 1st place.
Committees and reviewing
I was on the organising committee for the 2025 and 2026 Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health summer school: Summer School - Wolfson Centre for Young People’s Mental Health - Cardiff University
I was also on the organising committee for the Learned Society of Wales’ annual ECR colloquium in 2025: ECR Colloquium 2025 - The Learned Society of Wales and am a member of the Learned Society of Wales’ advisory group for researcher development: Advisory Group for Researcher Development - The Learned Society of Wales.
In 2026 I was selected to join the Learned Society of Wales' early career research medals scrutiny committee: https://www.learnedsociety.wales/medals/
I am an early career researcher member of the School of Social and Spatial Sciences Research Committee.
I regularly review papers for academic journals, which have recently included Educational Psychology Review, Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology, Journal of School Health, NIHR Open Research and Social Psychology of Education.
News articles
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Health Inequalities
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Health and wellbeing
- Quantitative social science
