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Associate Professor Divna Haslam
Associate Professor

Divna Haslam

Email: 

Overview

Background

My work aims to ensure all children have access to safe, stable, violence-free childhoods they need to thrive in childhood and across life. This spans from extensive work on evidence-based parenting programs to major national epidemiological work on child maltreatment, corporal punishment (smacking) & mental health & wellbeing.

In 2023, I was a ministerial appointment to the Child Death Review Board which conducts systemic reviews of child deaths to identify areas to improve child safety in QLD. In 2024 the World Health Organisation appointed me to their international Technical Expert Group for Violence Against Children Estimations. I also serve on the Board of Directors for the Parenting & Family Researchers Alliance and on the editorial board of the Australian Journal of Social Issues a policy masthead.

As both a clinical psychologist and a research academic, I use a prevention lens to target risk and protective factors to enhance child and family wellbeing to reduce the presence and impact of early adversity & mental ill health. This includes a focus on parenting stress, family violence and maltreatment, and issues associated with balancing work and life.

I am a chief investigator on the Young Minds: Our Future study which is the Third Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, and I am part of the award-winning Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) team which generated the first nationally representative Australian data on the prevalence and mental health impact of the five types of child maltreatment in Australia.

As a researcher, I have received >$10 million in research funding and published extensively in leading D1 & Q1 journals. I am a sought-after speaker & frequently engage in science communication via the media across all platforms.

Availability

Associate Professor Divna Haslam is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Arts, The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Member, Australian Psychological Society, Australian Psychological Society

Research impacts

I am an international leader in knowledge generation, particularly around parenting and the use of parenting support to reduce violence toward children and strategies to enhance child mental health and wellbeing. My research has demonstrated global impact on research and policy and there is strong evidence of recognition of my thought leadership by governments and peak bodies within Australia and overseas. My research has been cited in 65 policy documents, across 12 countries (Overton, 2024) including the UK, Australia, and Norway, and 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 the media frequently seek me to provide expert commentary on parenting, child adversity, and the importance of the early years. Clinical tools I have developed have been used in over 15 countries across 10 languages.

I actively participate in public discourse and knowledge transfer through the generation of knowledge-sharing resources, and the publication of feature articles aimed at policymakers and the general public in platforms such as the Conversation and John Menadue's Public Policy Journal. I am a sought-after speaker and have provided a range of keynotes and invited presentations across all levels of government, the sector, and in academic conference settings. The Australian government has engaged me as a field expert for several different projects in parenting and child maltreatment. 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.

Works

Search Professor Divna Haslam’s works on UQ eSpace

82 works between 2006 and 2025

81 - 82 of 82 works

2008

Other Outputs

Teachers as parents project: Examining the work-family interface and the efficacy of a workplace parenting intervention targeting work and family conflict

Haslam, Divna (2008). Teachers as parents project: Examining the work-family interface and the efficacy of a workplace parenting intervention targeting work and family conflict. PhD Thesis, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/178867

Teachers as parents project: Examining the work-family interface and the efficacy of a workplace parenting intervention targeting work and family conflict

2006

Journal Article

Social support and postpartum depressive symptomatology: The mediating role of maternal self-efficacy

Haslam, D. M., Pakenham, K. I. and Smith, A. (2006). Social support and postpartum depressive symptomatology: The mediating role of maternal self-efficacy. Infant Mental Health Journal, 27 (3), 276-291. doi: 10.1002/imhj.20092

Social support and postpartum depressive symptomatology: The mediating role of maternal self-efficacy

Funding

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2027
    Services for a National Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing Study
    Curtin University
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2015 - 2016
    A randomised controlled trial of a brief positive parenting program for Kenyan parents living in poverty
    Edmund Rice Overseas Aid Fund
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2016
    Promoting positive adjustment in migrant and refugee families through delivery of an evidence-based parenting program
    The Sidney Myer Fund
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2014
    What is the impact of defence life on children and families? A cross-sectional comparison of child wellbeing and family experiences of defence and civilian families.
    DHF Establishment Grants
    Open grant
  • 2006 - 2007
    Teachers as Parents Project. Examining the work-family interface: The Impact of a Worksite Parenting Invervention on Family and Occupational Functioning
    Australian Rotary Health Research Fund
    Open grant
  • 2005 - 2006
    Teachers as Parents Project. Examining the work-family interface: The impact of a worksite parenting intervention on family and occupational functioning.
    Australian Rotary Health Research Fund
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Associate Professor Divna Haslam is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The Settlement Success Project: Examining the Efficacy of a Parenting Intervention Aimed at Promoting Family Adjustment following Settlement in Australia

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Alina Morawska

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Parenting after migration exploration of the unique parenting needs of migrant parents to australia

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Alina Morawska

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The Settlement Success Project: Examining the Efficacy of a Parenting Intervention Aimed at Promoting Family Adjustment following Settlement in Australia

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Alina Morawska

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The efficacy of Triple P with Deaf children in Indonesia

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Alina Morawska

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

Contact Associate Professor Divna Haslam directly for media enquiries about:

  • adverse childhood experiences
  • child abuse
  • child anxiety
  • child behaviour
  • child maltreatment
  • child mental health
  • children
  • corporal punishment
  • family
  • parenting
  • parenting programs
  • smacking
  • triple p
  • violence against children
  • work life balance
  • work-family conflict
  • work-life balance
  • working parents

Need help?

For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au