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Associate Professor and Educational and Developmental Psychologist
I study belonging across the human lifespan, following how it develops and is sustained from childhood through to adulthood, in work, family, and life.
Dr Kelly-Ann Allen
Where do you belong?
In a fast moving, disconnected world, a sense of belonging has never been more important.
Image by Benny Capp
About
Kelly-Ann Allen
Belonging shapes how people endure change, navigate work, sustain relationships, and make sense of their place in the world. My research focuses on the conditions that build and maintain belonging, as a psychological process, across the lifespan.
My work centres on translating belonging research into forms that travel beyond academic journals and I share this work through public articles and invited talks. This website exists to extend the reach of that work and to make it more accessible and usable for people thinking about belonging in their own lives, and also the lives of others.
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MAKING SENSE OF BELONGING
Latest Articles
Dance can offer connection for people who have struggled to find places of belonging elsewhere.
Brief interactions with strangers support social confidence and protect against loneliness and low mood.
Newly arrived immigrant students described belonging as feeling noticed, supported, and guided by teachers.
Neighbourly connection supports older adults, newcomers, and those facing mental health challenges.
Teachers can create belonging through caring relationships, not just teaching.
A study reveals that school belonging influences substance use into adulthood.
Featured Research
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