Soly Erlandsson
Soly Erlandsson is Professor Emerita of Psychology and a certified psychologist. She is a Visiting Professor at University West. Her research mainly focuses on how psychological factors interact with functional problems resulting from hearing disorders and tinnitus in studies involving children, young people and adults.
Current research
Soly Erlandsson is currently working on a research project with Linda Lundin at University West and Nicolas Dauman at Université de Poitiers in France. The aim of the study is to give people with a seriously reduced quality of life as a result of tinnitus the opportunity to talk about their suffering. The researchers will investigate how the experience of tinnitus interacts with people's unique life stories. The aim is to give healthcare professionals an insight into how patients experience their suffering and to establish a better basis for selecting methods of treatment.
Soly Erlandsson is involved in another current study as scientific supervisor. The project is headed by Kathe Nonås in collaboration with Ingemar Johansson. It examines the work situation of school head-teachers and how working conditions interact with the conditions for learning at individual, collective and organisational level.
Previous research
During a long career in research, Soly Erlandsson has studied various psychological and emotional states and personality traits in patients with tinnitus and she has evaluated a range of treatment methods for tinnitus. For example, together with colleagues from psychiatry and audiology, she has evaluated the effects of psychological group therapy on those with tinnitus. Among other things, the analysis showed that the majority of patients realised that there was a relationship between their frame of mind and how they reacted to noise.
In another project, Soly Erlandsson has, together with Swedish and American colleagues, conducted research on young people's attitudes and risk-taking when exposed to loud levels of noise. The researchers were able to show, among other things, that there are big differences in attitude and behaviour between young people in the USA and in Sweden. Young people in Sweden protect their hearing to a greater extent than those in the USA when in environments with loud levels of noise. The studies have generated new perspectives on how preventive work should be designed to reduce the risk of hearing loss among the young.
Appointments etc.
Soly Erlandsson defended her doctoral thesis at the University of Gothenburg in 1990 and she became Associate Professor in 1996, also at the University of Gothenburg. She came to University West in 1998 and was appointed Professor in 2006.
Soly Erlandsson is a member of the board of the Foundation for Audiological Research, Stingerfonden, and she is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being.
References to some of Soly Erlandsson's publications are available in the database DiVA.