Maria Jernslett
PhD supervisors:
Background
Prior to starting my PhD studies, I completed a two-year MSc in Developmental Psychology and Clinical Practice at University College London and The Anna Freud Centre, where I simultaneously worked in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service as an Assistant Child Psychotherapist. I have further gained a range of other clinical experiences with children and young people, including working as a Care Worker in an emergency residential home for looked after children with severe complex trauma backgrounds. More recently, I worked as a Research Associate at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, where I designed and led research projects related to childhood adversity and trauma, with a particular focus on identifying trajectories of risk, resilience, and psychological growth, both among children and adults with previous childhood adversity exposure.
Qualifications
MSc, Developmental Psychology and Clinical Practice - University College London / The Anna Freud Centre (2017-2019)
BSc, Psychology - Queen Mary University of London (2014-2017)
Research summary
My thesis explores how adult romantic attachment shapes individuals’ views of themselves and others, with a particular focus on self-worth and its regulation in romantic relationships. It examines the assumption that attachment anxiety reflects a negative self-model, whereas attachment avoidance reflects a positive self-model. Two meta-analyses investigate associations between attachment dimensions, self-esteem, and grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, accounting for methodological differences and overlap between attachment dimensions.
Building on these findings, I propose a theoretical framework that distinguishes underlying relational motivations from the defensive strategies used to maintain or protect self-worth. A final mixed-methods study examines responses to romantic rejection, investigating whether attachment anxiety and avoidance differ not only in the extent to which rejection threatens self-worth, but also in how such threats are regulated through heightened emotional activation or defensive disengagement.
Overall, the thesis aims to advance understanding of how attachment-related motivations and defensive processes may influence self-perceptions in romantic relationships.
Jernslett, M., Pluess, M, Kapatais, A., Obsuth, I., Avraam, D., Syros, I., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X. (in press). Environmental Sensitivity’s Dual Role in Posttraumatic Growth and Stress Experiences. European Journal of Psychotraumatology.
Jernslett, M., Stanton, S. C. E., Tunç, H., & Obsuth, I. (in press). Adult romantic attachment and self-esteem reconsidered: A meta-analytic test of the positive versus negative self-model framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X., Syros, I., Charalampidou, P., Frewen, P., Jernslett, M., Evgeniou, E., Miliaraki, C., Papathanasiou, E., Olff, M., & Hoeboer, C. (2026). Screening for psychotrauma related symptomatology: Greek adaptation and validation of the Global Psychotrauma Screen. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 17(1), DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2607315
Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X., Kallia, E., Syros, I., Lioupi, C., Charalampidou, P., Paxinos, I., Evgeniou, E., Panagoulia, E., Papathanasiou, E., Miliaraki, C., Adam, N., Tsourdini, A., Karaiskaki, A., Apostolopoulou, M. E., Angelaki, M., Iosif, N., Jernslett, M., & Lotzin, A. (2026). A longitudinal investigation of mental health during times of uncertainty: Insights from Greece during COVID-19. Hellenic Journal of Psychology, 23(1), 92-109. DOI: 10.26262/hjp.v23i1.10661
Jernslett, M., Kilmer, R. P., Avraam, D., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X. (2025). Growing through adversity: A meta-analytic and conceptual elucidation of the relationship between posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth among youth. Clinical Psychology Review. DOI : 10.1016/j.cpr.2025.102617
Jernslett, M., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X., Lioupi, C., Syros, I., Kapatais, A., Karamanoli, V., ... & Lotzin, A. (2022). Disentangling the associations between past childhood adversity and psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating roles of specific pandemic stressors and coping strategies. Child Abuse & Neglect. DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105673
Jernslett, M., Thackeray, L., Faith, O., & Midgley, N. (2021). The experience of sleep problems for adolescents with depression in short-term psychological therapy. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1177/13591045211006157