معرفی
Roles: Professor and Vice Dean for Research at KU Leuven’s Faculty of Social Sciences. Member of DigiSoc (Digital Society Institute), L-C&Y (Child & Youth Institute), and LKI (Cancer Institute). Serves on multiple academic councils and committees, including the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Advisory Council and the Board of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Research Focus: Kathleen Beullens’ work centers on the psychosocial impacts of social media, particularly on youth. Key areas include adolescents’ mental health, alcohol use behaviors, family dynamics influenced by digital media, and the role of social surveillance in online interactions. Her studies employ mixed-method approaches, combining quantitative surveys with qualitative interviews and experimental designs.
Teaching & Projects: Teaches courses on social media analysis, health communication, and qualitative research. Leads projects like ‘Social Media Surveillance and Psychosocial Well-being’ and ‘Unraveling Online Peer Interactions’—exploring mental health, alcohol exposure, and familial technoference. Collaborates on interventions to reduce youth smoking and improve health communication.
Labs & Teams: Associated with the Media Psychology Lab at KU Leuven, focusing on digital media’s societal and psychological implications. Engages in interdisciplinary collaborations, bridging psychology, communication studies, and public health.
