Dr Divna Haslam

Honorary Senior Lecturer

School of Psychology
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences

Overview

I am a clinical psychologist and family researcher based in the Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology, working in the area of childhood adversity. I hold an adjunct appointment at the Parenting and Family Support Centre at the University of Queensland where I conduct parenting-related work and research supervision. The overarching theme of my research is how to best ensure all children have the opportunity to thrive and have safe, loving, non-violent childhoods. This has spanned clinical intervention development and evaluation of evidence-based behavioural family interventions (Triple P), specific work with families in different contexts (e.g., working parents, parents across different cultures), and epidemiological and population health in Australia and parenting in China. My work uses a population health perspective with a prevention focus.

As an academic I have over >60 published peer-reviewed papers primarily in Q1 journals as well as invited chapters and a range of clinical resources including a number of clinical and research instruments including the Work and Family Conflict Scale and the Guilt About Parenting Scale and the Workplace Triple P Program. I have received $>1.7 million in external research funding. I have substantial experience in consulting with various governments (eg Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the UK) about the implementation of evidence-based parenting programs and more recently about the identification and prevention of child maltreatment and other childhood adversity.

Research Impacts

I am an international leader in knowledge generation, particularly around parenting and the use of parenting support to reduce violence toward children. My research has demonstrated global impact on research and policy. There is strong evidence of recognition of my thought leadership by governments and peak bodies within Australia and overseas. My research in parenting has been cited in 22 policy documents, across five countries (Overton, 2023) including the UK, Australia, Norway, by peak bodies such as UNICEF, and in clinical excellence guidelines such as the UK's National Insitute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. My work has a strong focus on science communication and am frequently sought by the media to provide expert commentary in the area of parenting, child adversity, and the importance of the early years. I actively participate in public discourse and knowledge transfer through the generation of knowledge-sharing resources, the publication of feature articles in platforms such as the Conversation and John Menadue's Public Policy Journal. I have been invited to provide keynotes and other invited presentations by sector leaders within Australia such as NAPCAN Australia, the Queensland Child and Family Commission, and the Queensland Children's Hospital; as well as overseas in Indonesia, China, and India. Evidence of my impact is also shown by my contracted work for the Australian government. For example, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade contracted me as an expert to provide policy recommendations in the area of parenting to the Indonesian government as they established a parenting directorate, and in 2023 the National Office of Child Safety within the Attorney General's contracted me to conducted a scoping study on Wave Two Australian Child Maltreatment Study.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Arts, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor of Arts, The University of Queensland

Publications

View all Publications

Supervision

View all Supervision

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Haslam, Divna M. and Mejia, Anilena (2018). Accommodating race and ethnicity in parenting interventions. The power of positive parenting: transforming the lives of children, parents, and communities using the Triple P system. (pp. 332-343) edited by Matthew R. Sanders and Trevor G. Mazzucchelli . New York, NY, United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/med-psych/9780190629069.003.0030

  • Haslam, Divna M. and Penman, Nicole (2018). Parenting support in the workplace. The power of positive parenting: transforming the lives of children, parents, and communities using the Triple P system. (pp. 262-271) edited by Matthew R. Sanders and Trevor G. Mazzucchelli. New York, NY, United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/med-psych/9780190629069.003.0023

  • Burke, Kylie, Haslam, Divna and Butler, Keny (2018). Policies and services affecting parenting. Handbook of parenting and child development across the lifespan. (pp. 551-564) edited by Matthew R. Sanders and Alina Morawska. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-94598-9_24

  • Haslam, Divna M. and Burke, Kylie (2018). Work, poverty, and financial stress. Handbook of parenting and child development across the lifespan. (pp. 495-510) edited by Matthew R. Sanders and Alina Morawska. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-94598-9_21

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

Completed Supervision