Rhiannon’s research aims to promote participation in physical activity in ways that optimally improves mental health. To achieve this, Rhiannon researches:

• different physical activity behaviours (e.g., leisure-time physical activity, active transport, work-related physical activity, school sport, and physical education),
• different physical activity contexts (e.g., gyms, studios, at-home workouts, green space and blue space, different social environments)
• different motivations for being active, and the influence on psychological outcomes
• mediators (i.e., mechanisms responsible for effects of physical activity on mental health) and moderators (i.e., factors that strengthen the effect of physical activity and mental health)
• a range of psychological outcomes including depression and anxiety, positive mental health and wellbeing, affect, and discrete emotions including happiness, vitality, embarrassment, and relaxed

Rhiannon has conducted research with adults and adolescents, in individual, community, and school settings. She has experience running large intervention trials, using creative qualitative methods, and conducting surveys, interviews, and systematic reviews; and measuring exercise via accelerometer devices and psychological outcomes through intensive longitudianl repeated measures.

Rhiannon is also a Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education (HPE) and leads the design and delivery of teaching related to sport and exercise psychology, mental health and wellbeing, and meaningful movement in PE, including gymnastics, dance, athletics, and aquatics and ways in which they can be creatively connected to lifelong physical activity through physical education.