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Amanda joined the University of Roehampton in September 2014 from the School of Law, Lancaster University. She previously worked at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth and, prior to her PhD scholarship, worked as a Research Officer at the Trust for the Study of Adolescence.

Amanda’s research broadly addresses issues concerned with families, young people and harm. Her recent book, Family Criminology: An Introduction (Palgrave, 2021) is the world's first academic text on a brand new sub-discipline of Criminology, offering a fresh conceptual approach to understanding the intersections of crime, criminal justice and family life. 

Much of Amanda's research in recent years has focused on the problem of adolescent family violence. Amanda is the author of the UK’s first book on the topic, Adolescent-to-Parent Abuse: Current Understandings in Research, Policy and Practice (Policy Press, 2013) and is also the editor of Working with Adolescent Violence and Abuse towards Parents: Approaches and Contexts for Intervention (Routledge, 2016). Amanda has completed several research projects on adolescent family violence, and has worked with the UK Home Office to produce the first UK policy guidance on the issue. She has also been a keynote speaker at international conferences and has appeared on national radio and television, including Women's Hour (Radio 4), Channel 5 News and Newsnight (BBC1). She currently appears in Sky Crime's 8-part series Killing Mum and Dad.

Amanda recently completed a comprehensive assessment of child/adolescent to parent violence and abuse across London with colleagues, which was funded by London's Violence Reduction Unit - see final report here.

Other recently completed research projects include a large AHRC-funded project to explore gender-based violence during the Covid pandemic  (see project details here) and an exploration adolescent family violence within neurodiverse contexts.

Amanda is currently working on a collaborative pilot project exploring experiences of family violence towards LGBTQ+ people while growing up. 

BA (Hons) Applied Psychology; MSc Psychological Research Methods; PhD Applied Social Science

From a psychology background, I apply an interdisciplinary approach to my work and draw on a range of methodologies. Key areas of research interest include:

• Domestic/family violence and homicide
• Families and youth justice
• Violence in schools 
• Qualitative methodologies

PhD Supervision

Current supervision projects include:

• The family justice system in England and Wales: Child contact, domestic violence and women’s rights (Ruth Tweedale).
• Domestic violence against sex workers (Victoria Holt)
• Dramatherapy with grandparent kinship carers (Lynn Engler)

• Member of the British Society of Criminology
• Member of the European Society of Criminology
  
• Graduate Member of British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
• Trustee of Family Lives
• Advisory Board member at PEGS