Professor Rusi Jaspal

Rusi Jaspal is Professor of Psychology and Sexual Health, and Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Research at De Montfort University. He is also Deputy Director of the Mary Seacole Research Centre at De Montfort University Leicester, UK.He is a Visiting Professor of Minority Research at Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.

Rusi Jaspal is a Chartered Scientist, Chartered Psychologist and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, and an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Prof Jaspal is currently Co-Chair of the Medical Board of NAZ: Sexual Health for Everyone, and is a member of the British HIV Association and the DCP Faculty for HIV and Sexual Health.

Rusi Jaspal has obtained degrees from the University of Cambridge, the University of Surrey, and Royal Holloway, University of London. Prior to taking up his lectureship at De Montfort University, Rusi Jaspal completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Nottingham.

Mary Seacole Research Centre

Click here for a full listing of Dr Rusi Jaspal's publications and outputs.

• Social psychological aspects of self and identity
• Sexual health, sexual identity and sexual behaviour
• Psychological aspects of HIV/ AIDS
• Epidemiological aspects of HIV/AIDS
• HIV prevention
• Intergroup relations
• Social representations
• Political psychology

M.A. (University of Cambridge), M.Sc. (University of Surrey), Ph.D. (Royal Holloway, University of London), CPsychol, CSci, FBPsS, FRSPH,  FRSA

• M.Sc. research supervision
• Ph.D. research supervision

• 2014 DMU Vice-Chancellor's Future Research Leader 
• 2014 British Climate Change Study Group Award for one of the best papers on the sociology of climate change
• 2012 Outstanding Research by an Early Career Scholar Prize, Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section, British Psychological Society Awarded for “Jaspal, R. & Cinnirella, M. (2010). Coping with potentially incompatible identities: accounts of religious, ethnic and sexual identities from British Pakistani men who identify as Muslim and gay. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49(4), 849-870.
• 2011 Certificate for ‘Highly Commended’ essay for the Changing Faces Essay Prize 2011, Changing Faces, UK Essay entitled ‘Disfigurement: the challenges for identity and the strategies for coping’ (published in Psychological Studies (Springer) in 2012.
• 2011 Joint third prize for the Poster Competition at the Science, Technology and Society Launch Event, University of Nottingham Poster entitled ‘1988 – When climate change entered the political arena: a social representations analysis of British broadsheet coverage’

Medical Board Member, NAZ: Sexual Health for Everyone

• Royal Society for Public Health (Fellow)
• British HIV Association (Member)
• International AIDS Society (Member)
• British Psychological Society (BPS) (Chartered Psychologist & Fellow)
• Social Psychology Section (BPS) (Chartered Psychologist & Fellow)
• Science Council (Chartered Scientist)
• Royal Society of Arts (Fellow)

Please see the Mary Seacole Research Centre website for more information about Prof Jaspal's current projects.

2017

Jaspal, R. (2017). Reconciling ethnicity, faith and sexuality: British South Asians in the Midlands. Paper presented at the Leicester LGBT Conference, Leicester, UK, 17 February 2017.

Jaspal, R. (2017). Identity and sexual health among BME MSM in the UK. Paper presented at Pink Therapy's 5th Annual Conference, London, 25 March 2017.

Jaspal, R. (2017).  Enhancing sexual health, self-identity and wellbeing among men who have sex with men: Insights from psychology. Paper presented at the International Congress of Health Education & Research, Porto, Portugal, 28 June 2017.

2016

Jaspal, R. (2016). Developing effective sexual health interventions among black and minority ethnic men who have sex with men. Paper presented at the Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans People and Communities Conference, Public Health England, London, 14 January 2016.

Jaspal, R., Fish, J., Williamson, I. & Papaloukas, P. (2016). Measuring the impact of sexual health interventions among black and minority ethnic men who have sex with men. Poster presented at the Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans People and Communities Conference, Public Health England, London, 14 January 2016.

Jaspal, R., Jamal, Z., Paccoud, I. & Sekhon, P. (2016). Sexual health knowledge, attitudes and practices among BAME MSM: a correlational study. Poster presented at the Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans People and Communities Conference, Public Health England, London, 14 January 2016.
Jaspal, R. (2016). The social psychology of sexuality and religion: some data from British Muslim gay men. Invited lecture presented as part of the Queering Islam Lecture Series, University of Leicester, 27 January 2015.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Faith and sexuality in focus: insights from psychology. Invited lecture presented at Derbyshire County Council, Matlock, 10 February 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Sexual health and novel approaches to HIV prevention among gay and bisexual men. Paper presented at the DMUPride 2016 Open Lecture Series, De Montfort University, Leicester, 11 February 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). "I want to be who I am": reflections on identity, threat and coping. Professorial Lecture, De Montfort University, Leicester 15 March 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Health and identity processes among HIV-positive Latin American men who have sex with men in London. 2nd International Conference on LGBT Psychology & Related Fields, State University of Rio, Brazil, 10 March 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). "I want to be who I am": reflections on identity, threat and coping. Professorial lecture, De Montfort University Leicester, 15 March 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Accounts of managing multiple linguistic identities among British South Asians of religious faith. Paper presented at the Language, Performance and Identity AHRC International Symposium, Roehampton University, 21-22 March 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Sexual health knowledge, attitudes and practices among BAME MSM: a mixed methods study. Poster presented at 22nd Annual Conference of BHIVA, Manchester, 19-22 April 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Social representations of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention. Paper presented at the 17th IUSTI World Conference, Marrakesh, Morocco, 9-12 May 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Social representations of biomedical approaches to HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. Paper presented at ASSHH UK Conference: Continuing Critical Conversations about HIV. London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, 20 June 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Social representations of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an emerging HIV prevention option. Paper presented at the 16th Congress of the European Society for Health and Medical Sociology, Geneva, Switzerland, 27-29 June 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Sexual identity, behaviour and health among South Asian MSM: challenges & opportunities. Invited lecture presented at Barts Health NHS Trust, 20 July 2016.

Jaspal, R., Williamson, I. & Papaloukas, P. (2016). Exploring identity and sexual health management strategies among Colombian MSM in London. Poster presented at the Public Health England Annual Conference, University of Warwick, 14 September 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Engaging BME communities on sexual identity and sexual health. Paper presented at the DMU Black History Season Speed Lecture Series, De Montfort University, 26 October 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). The role of the social sciences in HIV research: challenges and opportunities. Invited lecture presented as part of the #DMULocal Research Festival Series, De Montfort University Leicester, 9 November 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). The construction of sexual identities among Iranian MSM in the UK: implications for sexual health. Paper presented at the New Forms of Trans-Border Mobilitity Conference, 10-12 November 2016.

Jaspal, R. (2016). PrEP acceptability in MSM in the UK: identity, stigma and health. Paper presented at the Trade Sexual Health 17th Annual General Meeting, Trade Sexual Health, Leicester, 8 December 2016.

BOOKS

Jaspal, R. (2014). Antisemitism and anti-Zionism: representation, cognition and everyday talk. Farnham: Ashgate.

Jaspal, R. & Breakwell, G.M. (2014). Identity process theory: identity, social action and social change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES AND CHAPTERS

Submitted

Jaspal, R. Anti-Zionism in the Iranian press: insights from social psychology. 

Jaspal, R., Lopes, B., Jamal, Z., Paccoud, I., Sekhon, P. & Wadibia, M. Sexual abuse and HIV risk behaviour among black and minority ethnic men who have sex with men in the UK.

Jaspal, R. & Williamson, I. Identity management strategies among HIV-positive Colombian men who have sex with men (MSM) in London.

Lopes, B., Kamau, C. & Jaspal, R. Coping with perceived abusive supervision in the workplace: the role of paranoia

Ribeiro, B., Hartley, S., Nerlich, B. & Jaspal, R. Media coverage of Zika in Brazil: How a 'war' frame masks social and gender equalities.

In press

Collins, L., Jaspal, R. & Nerlich, B. (in press). Who or what has agency in the discussion of antibiotic resistance in the UK press (2010-2015)? A transitivity analysis. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness & Medicine.

Daramilas, C. & Jaspal, R. (in press). Measuring quality of care: A patient satisfaction perspective. Social Psychological Review. 

Jaspal, R. (in press). Antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the British Pakistani Muslim community. In J.G. Campbell & L.D. Klaff (eds) Unity and Diversity in Contemporary Antisemitism: The Bristol-Sheffield Hallam Colloquium on Contemporary Antisemitism. Brighton, MA: Academic Studies Press. 

Jaspal, R. (in press). Homosexuality and Islam: Identity, threat and health among Muslim men who have sex with men (MSM). In M. Ryan and H. Rizzo (eds.), Sexualities in the Contemporary Middle East. Boulder, CO: Lynne Riener Publishers.

Jaspal, R. & Nerlich, B. (in press) Polarised Reporting about HIV Prevention: Social Representations of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) in the UK Press. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine.

Lopes, B., Kamau, C. & Jaspal, R. (in press). The roles of socioeconomic status, occupational health and job rank on the epidemiology of different psychiatric symptoms in a sample of UK workers. Community Mental Health Journal. 

Mitha, K., Adatia, S. & Jaspal, R. (in press). Two cultures, one identity: Formulations of Australian Isma'ili Muslim identity. Contemporary Islam.

2017

Jaspal, R. (2017). Coping with ethnic prejudice on the gay scene: British South Asian gay men. Journal of LGBT Youth, 14(2), 172-190

Jaspal, R. (2017). Gay men's construction and management of identity on Grindr. Sexuality & Culture, 21(1),187-204. 

2016

Daramilas, C. & Jaspal, R. (2016). HIV diagnosis and identity processes among men who have sex with men (MSM) in London, Athens and New York. Social Psychological Review, 18(2), 6-16

Fish, J., Papaloukas, P., Jaspal, R., Williamson, I. (2016). Equality in sexual health promotion: a systematic review of effective interventions for black and minority ethnic men who have sex with men. BMC Public Health 16(810)

Jaspal, R. (2016). Identity - Social Psychological Aspects. In J. Stone, R. Dennis, P. Rizova, A. Smith, and X. Hou (eds.), Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism. Wiley-Blackwell.

Jaspal, R. (2016). "I have two homelands": constructing and managing Iranian Jewish and Persian Israeli identities. Israel Affairs 22(2), 423-443.

Jaspal, R. (2016). Homosexuality and Islam. In A. Wong, M. Wicktramasinghe & R.C. Hoogland (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies. Wiley-Blackwell. 

Jaspal, R. (2016). Muslim LGB people. In A. Goldberg (ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies (pp. 803-806). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 

Jaspal, R. (2016). Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: Identity Stigma and Activism. In P. Reilly, A. Veneti & D. Atanasova (eds.), Politics, Protest, Emotion: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (pp. 162-168). Pressbooks. 

Jaspal, R. (2016). Grindr, chemsex and self-esteem. FS Magazine, 155, 30-31.

Jaspal, R. (2016). What is it really like to be Black or Asian and gay? FS Magazine, 152, 36-38.

Jaspal, R., Carriere, K. & Moghaddam, F. (2016). Bridging micro, meso and macro processes in social psychology. In J. Valsiner, G. Marsico, N. Chaudhary, T. Sato & V. Dazzani (eds.), Psychology as a science of human being: The Yokohama Manifesto. New York: Springer. 

Jaspal, R. & Daramilas, C. (2016). Perceptions of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among HIV-negative and HIV-positive men who have sex with men. Cogent Medicine. 3: 1256850.

Jaspal, R. & Nerlich, B. (2016). A "morning-after" pill for HIV? Social representations of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV in the British print media. Health, Risk & Society, 18(5-6), 225-246. 

Jaspal, R., Nerlich, B. & van Vuuren, K. (2016). Embracing and resisting climate identities in the Australian press: sceptics, scientists and politics. Public Understanding of Science, 25(7), 807-824

Jaspal, R. & Takhar, O.K. (2016). Caste and Identity Processes among British Sikhs in the Midlands. Sikh Formations, 12(1), 87-102. 

I currently supervise the following PhD students:

• Sebastian Cordoba, Social psychology of non-binary gender identities
• Iman Naser El-Deen, Intercultural communication and learning in Kuwaiti schools
• Zaqia Rehman, Mental health outcomes among South Asian LGB people

• 2015 NAZ: Sexual Health For Everyone, Supporting People Living with HIV (£10,000)
• 2014 Public Health England (£40,000) Sexual health and psychological wellbeing among Black and minority ethnic men who have sex with men.
• 2012 Iran Media Program, Annenberg Public Policy Center (value $3600) Principal investigator on project entitled ‘Representing the “Arab Spring”: A critical discourse analysis of the Iranian media’
• 2012 Health and Medical Science Research Fund, Surrey University (value £4606) Co-investigator on project entitled ‘The Impact of Living in a Positive-Aging Retirement Community on Health and Well-being in Older People’
• 2011 Science, Technology and Society Research Development Funds (value £1320) Co-investigator on project entitled ‘Making sense of nuclear power in the context of climate change and natural disasters: an exploration of public concerns using a mixed-methods
approach’
• 2010 Victoria Hazlitt Memorial Fund (value £250) Awarded for project ‘National and ethnic identification and the impact for identity processes’ Royal Holloway, University of London
• 2009 Central Research Fund (value £1200) Awarded for project ‘Ethnolinguistic vitality and identity threat: The case of Bill 104’ University of London
• 2009 Victoria Hazlitt Memorial Fund (value £300) Awarded for research project entitled “Language attitudes and identity” Royal Holloway, University of London
• 2008 Thomas Holloway Full StudentshipAwarded for Ph.D. research (3 years)Royal Holloway, University of London
• 2008 Research scholarship (value £750) Awarded for ‘Learning for a Complex World’ project SCEPTrE, University of Surrey

Professor Rusi Jaspal book reviews editor of Israel Affairs.

He serves on the editorial boards of

• Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology
• European Journal of Social Psychology

He has examined several PhD theses at universities in the UK and Australia.

Prof Jaspal has reviewed for the following publications:

• Ashgate Publishing Company
• Basic and Applied Social Psychology (Taylor and Francis)
• British Journal of Social Psychology (British Psychological Society)
• Culture, Health & Sexuality (Taylor & Francis)
• Culture and Psychology (SAGE)
• Energy Policy (Elsevier)
• Environmental Values (Whitehorse)
• European Journal of Social Psychology (SAGE)
• Environment & Planning A
• Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research (Taylor and Francis)
• International Criminal Justice Review (SAGE)
• Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology (John Wiley and Sons)
• Journal of Environmental Communication (Taylor & Francis)
• Journal of Homosexuality (Taylor and Francis)
• Journal of Social and Political Psychology (PsychOpen)
• Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture
• Ethnicities (SAGE)
• Journal of Interpersonal Relations, Intergroup Relations and Identity (Université de Montréal)
• Mental Health, Religion and Culture (Taylor and Francis)
• Metaphor and the Social World (John Benjamins)
• Personal Relationships (SAGE)
• Progress in Psychology
• Public Understanding of Science (SAGE)
• Routledge books
• Science as Culture (Taylor and Francis)
• Springer books

Watch an interview with Prof Jaspal regarding his research into homosexuality in British Asian society. Read an interview with Prof Jaspal regarding his career in psychology.