Catia Malvaso

Associate Professor Catia Malvaso

ARC Externally Funded Research Fellow (C)

Robinson Research Institute

Division of Research and Innovation

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

I am an Associate Professor in the School of Psychology and and the criminal justice lead in BetterStart Health and Development Research in the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide. Between 2020 and 2024 I was supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), and from January 2025 I will commence a University of Adelaide Future Making Fellowship sponsored by the Robinson Research Institute and the Division of Research and Innovation.

I lead a program of research on understanding pathways between the child protection, youth justice and adult criminal justice systems, with the overarching goal of identifying prevention and early investment opportunities to improve outcomes for children, families and communities. My research is informed by cross-disciplinary knowledge, including developmental psychology, developmental and life course criminology, and epidemiology.

I recently presented key findings from our research at the University of Adelaide's Research Tuesdays public lecture series in November 2024 which you can view online at https://youtu.be/zHEgupqNskc

I lead a program of research which aims to identify prevention and early investment opportunities to disrupt pathways from maltreatment to offending behaviour. Since 2018, I have been positioned across two schools in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences – Psychology and Public Health – due to the cross-disciplinary nature of my research. I am a Future Making Fellow in the Robinson Research Institute and Criminal Justice lead within BetterStart Health and Development Research - see https://health.adelaide.edu.au/betterstart/

I completed my PhD on the association between child protection and youth justice system contact in 2017, for which I was awarded a Dean's Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence and the Frank Dalziel Prize for Best Psychology Thesis from the School of Psychology.

I was awarded a nationally competitive Australian Research Council Discovery Early Researcher Career Award (DECRA) in November 2019. In 2020, I was awarded an Early Career Researcher Prize from the American Society of Criminology, and in 2021 a Tall Poppy Award for excellence in research achievement and community engagement from the Australian Institute of Policy and Science. In January 2025, I commenced a University of Adelaide Future Making Fellowship sponsored by the Robinson Research Institute and the Division of Research and Innovation.

I recently presented key findings from our research at the University of Adelaide's Research Tuesdays public lecture series in November 2024 which you can view online:

Year Type Role Amount Funder, title
2023 Cat 1 Grant CIC $2,495,942 Medical Research Future Fund, Are we meeting the health needs of 50,000 children in out-of-home care?
2023 Contract CIA $171,500 Department of Human Services, Youth Justice. Youth Justice Trauma-Informed Case Management Model.
2022 Cat 1 Grant CID $548,000 Australian Research Council, Discovery Project. Families with multiple and complex needs: refocusing on early intervention
2022 Contract CIA $187,721 Department of Correctional Services. Supporting prevention of criminal justice system contact among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
2022 Cat 2-4 Grant CIA $190,000 Department of Human Services, Youth Justice. Implementing a research and service development partnership.
2022 Cat 2-4 Grant CIA $99,894 Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation. Children who offend: Understanding and responding to early-onset criminal behaviour
2022 Cat 2-4 Grant CIB $96,571 Grant (Cat 2-4): Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation. Out-of-home care is not one thing: Effects of complex care patterns on health, development and welfare outcomes
2021 Contract CIB $200,000 Department for Human Services, Early Intervention Research Directorate. Scoping system wide capacity for the prevention of child maltreatment
2021 Internal CIC $88,566 University of Adelaide, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Strategic Research Support Scheme, Developing capacity to investigate the role of poverty in child maltreatment
2021 Internal CID $109,217 University of Adelaide, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Strategic Research Support Scheme, Children’s visual attention and responses to affective interactions
2020 Contract CIA $23,261 Department for Human Services, Exceptional Needs Unit. Developing a practice framework for engaging with young people with complex support needs.
2020 Internal CIB $2,000 University of Adelaide, School of Psychology and SA Health Collaboration. Building a database using Child Protective Services records for research and clinical purposes.
2019 Cat 1 Grant CIA $416,761 Australian Research Council, Discovery Early Career Researcher Award. Child maltreatment, youth and adult offending: Pathways and prevention.
2019 Consultancy CIA $2,500 Department for Human Services, Youth Justice Directorate. Analysis of the Youth Justice Assessment and Intervention Service screening project.
2019 Cat 2-4 Grant CIA $95,850 Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation. The crossover of children from out-of-home care into youth justice: Identifying opportunities for early intervention.
2019 Contract CIB $128,000 Department for Child Protection and Centacare Catholic Family Services. Evaluation of the Adolescent Reunification Program.
2018 Cat 2-4 Grant CIA $75,893 Criminology Research Council, Australian Institute of Criminology. Adverse childhood experiences and trauma among young people in youth justice.
2017 Consultancy CIA $89,200 Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. Provision of services.

I teach into a number of undergraduate psychology courses where I am able to embed my research into my teaching and translate cross-disciplinary knowledge from psychology, public health and criminology.

I co-ordinated Contemporary Issues in Psychology as part of the Honours degree in 2024. This course focused on research and practice in forensic and correctional psychology.

The courses I regularly teach into include:

  • Second year Psychology in Society (intercultural component)
  • Third year Psychology Health and Lifespan Development (child development component)
  • Third year Psychology Advanced Research Methods and Skills (data linkage)

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2023 Principal Supervisor The intersection between Out-of-Home Care and Youth Justice involvement and the barriers to supporting young people with complex behaviours Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Tessa Gloede
    2023 Co-Supervisor Using linked administrative data and cross-country comparisons to investigate the applications of overseas models in South Australian community services: A homelessness example Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Jessica Ann Dobrovic
    2022 Co-Supervisor Investigating the intersection of parental substance misuse and child protection contact using whole of population linked data enriched with service system perspectives Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Kimberly Jade Klassman
    2022 Co-Supervisor Moving towards a fairer Australia: disentangling multidimensional disadvantage and child protection contact Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Anna Anne Kalamkarian
    2021 Co-Supervisor Investigating out-of-home care contact and mental health sequelae using linked whole-of-population data Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Jessica Renee Judd

  • Other Supervision Activities
    Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
    2019 - ongoing Co-Supervisor Suicidal risk in young Indigenous and non-Indigenous males in Youth Justice: Understanding the role of early child maltreatment and other risk factors University of Adelaide - Honours - Matilda D'Antoine

  • Mentoring
    Date Topic Location Name
    2019 - ongoing Bachelor of Psychology Advanced student University of Adelaide Anna Hilferty

  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2019 - ongoing Board Member Australian & New Zealand Society of Psychology, Psychiatry and Law (ANZAPPL) SA branch Australian & New Zealand Society of Psychology, Psychiatry and Law Australia
    2019 - ongoing Co-Chair Developmental and Life Course Criminology Thematic Group Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Australia

  • Memberships
    Date Role Membership Country
    2019 - ongoing Member Australian & New Zealand Society of Criminology Australia
    2019 - ongoing Member American Society of Criminology United States
    2018 - ongoing Board Member Australian & New Zealand Society for Psychology, Psychiatry and Law Australia

  • Consulting/Advisories
    Date Institution Department Organisation Type Country
    2017 - ongoing Youth Justice Psychology Services Youth Justice Health services and related Australia
    2017 - ongoing Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory Attorney General's Department Health services and related Australia

  • Expert Witness
    Date Case Institution Country
    2015 - ongoing Child Protection Systems Royal Commission University of Adelaide -

  • Review, Assessment, Editorial and Advice
    Date Title Type Institution Country
    2019 - ongoing Child Maltreatment and Aggressive Behaviors in Early Adolescence: Evidence of Moderation by Parent/Child Relationship Quality Journal Review Child Maltreatment -
    2019 - ongoing Parental death during childhood and violent crime in late adolescence to early adulthood – a Swedish national cohort study Journal Review Palgrave Communications -
    2019 - ongoing A prospective, longitudinal study of risk factors for early onset of delinquency among maltreated youth Journal Review Children and Youth Services Review -
    2019 - ongoing What happens to children born to young people in and leaving state care and why? Journal Review Children and Youth Services Review -
    2019 - ongoing A Descriptive Analysis of the Child Protection Histories of Youth and Young Adults Arrested in California Journal Review Child Maltreatment -
    2018 - ongoing Services to young people with complex support needs in rural and regional Australia: Beyond a metro-centric response Journal Review Children and Youth Services Review -
    2018 - ongoing The intersection between the child protection and youth justice systems’ for your review Peer Review Child Family Community Australia -
    2018 - ongoing Childhood victimization, recent injustice, anger and forgiveness in a sample of male prison inmates Journal Review Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology -
  • Position: ARC Externally Funded Research Fellow (C)
  • Phone: 83131682
  • Email: catia.malvaso@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Hughes, floor 7
  • Org Unit: Psychology
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