Evie Dilkes
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Email
evelyn.dilkes@essex.ac.uk -
Location
2N2.5B.16, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
I am a mental health researcher and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Essex ESNEFT Psychological Research Unit for Behaviour, Health and Wellbeing (EEPRU). My current research focuses on identifying moderators of psychological distress, using a biopsychosocial framework to examine how psychological, social, and biological factors shape mental health outcomes across populations. My doctoral research focused on depersonalisation-derealisation disorder, contributing to an underdeveloped evidence base for this condition through the integration of biomarkers, self-report, and longitudinal data. This work continues to inform my broader research programme, which aims to improve understanding of dissociative symptoms and support research that is relevant to underserved clinical communities, practice, and policy. I have undertaken a research visit to the University of Lisbon, contributing to international collaboration in this area.
Qualifications
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PhD Biosocial Research University of Essex, (2025)
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MSc Child Development University College London, (2018)
Research and professional activities
Conferences and presentations
Lifestyle behaviours and self-rated health in the longitudinal association between allostatic load and psychological distress: evidence from Understanding Society
European Psychiatric Association - Congress of the Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry Section, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy, 13/9/2026
What Types of Childhood Adversities Predict Depersonalisation and Derealisation? An Updated View Using Large Scale Data
Society for Longitudinal and Lifecourse Studies Conference 2025, Switzerland, 8/9/2025
Do Adverse Childhood Experiences Directly Affect the Likelihood of Experiencing Depersonalisation and Derealisation? A Longitudinal Study
International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD), Boston, United States, 13/3/2025
Publications
Publications (1)
Dilkes, E., Gillmeister, H. and Daughters, K., (2026). Hyper-reflexivity as a cognitive mechanism in elevated depersonalisation and derealisation
Journal articles (4)
Dilkes, E., Gillmeister, H. and DAUGHTERS, K., (2026). Childhood and contemporaneous inflammation in depersonalisation and derealisation: Longitudinal evidence from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 54, 101273-101273
Booker, CL., Liang, Y., Meadows, A., Cranshaw, O., Dearman, A., Dilkes, E., Hignell, B., Malih, AJ., Navyte, G. and Kumari, M., (2026). A systematic review and empiric examination of the conceptual and analytic overlap between allostatic load and multimorbidity. SSM - Population Health. 35, 101962-101962
Shen, X., Barbu, M., Caramaschi, D., Arathimos, R., Czamara, D., David, FS., Dearman, A., Dilkes, E., Herrera-Rivero, M., Huider, F., Kühn, L., Lu, K-C., Palviainen, T., Schowe, AM., Shireby, G., Weihs, A., Wong, CCY., Davyson, E., Casey, H., Adams, MJ., Allgaier, A-K., Barber, M., Burrage, J., Caspi, A., Costeira, R., Dunn, EC., Feldmann, L., Frank, J., Freisleder, FJ., Gadd, DA., Greimel, E., Hannon, E., Harris, SE., Homuth, G., Howard, DM., Iurato, S., Korhonen, T., Lu, T-P., Martin, NG., Martins, J., McDermott, E., Meinert, S., Navarro, P., Ollikainen, M., Pehl, V., Piechaczek, C., Scherff, AD., Stein, F., Streit, F., Teumer, A., Völzke, H., van Dongen, J., Walker, RM., Yusupov, N., Arseneault, L., Bell, JT., Berger, K., Binder, E., Boomsma, DI., Cox, SR., Dannlowski, U., Evans, KL., Fisher, HL., Forstner, AJ., Grabe, HJ., Kaprio, J., Kircher, T., Kopf-Beck, J., Kumari, M., Kuo, P-H., Li, QS., Moffitt, TE., Mulcahy, H., Murphy, TM., Schulte-Körne, G., Mill, J., Lewis, CM., van Dongen, J., Wray, NR. and McIntosh, AM., (2025). A methylome-wide association study of major depression with out-of-sample case–control classification and trans-ancestry comparison. Nature Mental Health. 3 (10), 1152-1167
Howarth, H., Evans, G., Kruger, P., Dilkes, E., Bell, G. and Kipps, C., (2023). The prevalence of common mental health problems and associated psychosocial issues in elite swimmers. Sports Psychiatry. 2 (3), 83-88
Thesis dissertation (1)
Dilkes, ER., (2026). The biopsychosocial model of depersonalisation and derealisation: an updated framework