Dr Olivia Maynard
BSc, PhD
Expertise
Current positions
Associate Professor in Psychological Science
School of Psychological Science
Contact
Press and media
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Research interests
Dr Maynard is a psychologist with interests in drug use and harm reduction. Specifically, she is interested in how individuals balance risk perceptions with intentions to use drugs (including nicotine, alcohol and other prohibited drugs). She examines how risk perceptions and drug use behaviours can be changed through individual- and population-level interventions. Other research examines the impact of misinformation on attitudes and behaviours related to drug use, the role of stigma on attitudes towards drug policies and drug treatment, and the role of drugs policies on behaviour.
She uses both qualitative methods (interviews, focus groups) and quantitative methods (survey research, randomised experiments) in both laboratory and real-world settings.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
RESPECT study – reducing stigma towards people who use controlled drugs
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
01/05/2023 to 31/01/2026
Developing a Research Project and Creative Tool to Explore Peer Perceptions of Cannabis Use
Role
Co-Principal Investigator
Description
Our overall aim is to develop a research project that creatively explores the impact that presentation and perception of cannabis use has on individual attitudes towards drug use.
Through Ideas Exchange…Managing organisational unit
Bristol Medical School (PHS)Dates
07/02/2019 to 31/07/2019
Eye-tracking to evaluate Colombian tobacco control policies
Principal Investigator
Description
Smoking causes 13% of adult deaths in Colombia. Before introducing new tobacco control measures,
including larger health warnings and standardised packaging, Colombian policymakers require local evidence of their effectiveness. We will…Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
12/11/2018 to 31/07/2019
Developing Effective Tobacco Control Measures in Colombia
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
01/03/2018 to 31/07/2018
Smoking kills, but you can quit: Threat and efficacy messaging to prevent tobacco smoking among adults and adolescents
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Psychological ScienceDates
01/12/2017 to 30/04/2020
Thesis supervisions
The use of choice architecture interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in bar-like settings
Supervisors
Harm Reduction Focused Drug Education
Supervisors
"They're doing it anyway, let's have a conversation about it"
Supervisors
“Holding on by the Seat of Their Pants” A Mixed Methods Exploration of Retention, Completion and Recovery in Opioid Substitution Treatment
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
15/04/2025Getting Active through Mindfulness
Mental Health and Physical Activity
Perceived Harm of Vaping Relative to Smoking and Associations With Subsequent Smoking and Vaping Behaviors Among Young Adults
Nicotine and Tobacco Research
'Zombie drugs'
International Journal of Drug Policy
A qualitative investigation of women’s experiences of drug use at university and needs within university drug harm reduction services
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
Do Flavor Descriptions Influence Subjective Ratings of Flavored and Unflavored E-liquids Among Nonsmoking and Non-vaping UK Adolescents?
Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
Related people
Professor Matthew Hickman
Professor in Public Health and Epidemiology
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Professor Angela Attwood
Professor of Psychological Science
School of Psychological Science
Miss Katie De-loyde
Senior Research Associate in Behaviour Change
School of Psychological Science
Dr Carlos Sillero Rejon
Research Fellow
Bristol Medical School (PHS)
Dr Vicky Carlisle
Research Fellow in Qualitative and Behavioural Science
Bristol Medical School (PHS)