Our people

Mr Douglas Russell

Senior Research Officer
Institute of Child Protection Studies

Areas of expertise: child sexual abuse; safeguarding; transgender healthcare; neurocognitive development; mental health; psychological wellbeing; developmental psychology

Phone: 03-9230-8398

Email: Douglas.russell@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Melbourne Campus 

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-7976-7375

Douglas has been a senior research officer at ICPS since 2017, and is leading research in two key areas: the participation of children and young people in child safe organisations, and the capabilities of staff and volunteers to prevent and respond to organisational child sexual abuse. He is a qualified primary school teacher with 15 years' experience teaching in Australia, the UK and Dubai, and his key focus has always been on the wellbeing of children. Douglas is also a PhD candidate at The University of Melbourne where he is investigating the relationship between sex hormones and neurocognitive development in adolescence, and the effect puberty blockers have on this.

Select publications

• Publications and Conference Proceedings:
• Rayment-McHugh, S., McKillop, N., Adams, D., Higgins, D. H., & Russell, D. H. (under review). Context matters: Conceptualising and operationalising the contextual prevention of child sexual abuse.
• Russell, D. H. & Higgins, D. H. (2023). Friends and safeguarding: Young people's views about safety and to whom they would share safety concerns. Child Abuse Review. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2825
• Russell, D. H. & Coghill, D. The effect of sex hormones on brain development and functioning. In B Halpern-Felsher (Ed.), Encyclopedia of child and adolescent health. Elsevier
• Russell, D. H., Stewart, J., & Higgins, D. J. (2022). Safeguarding in Church: Children and Young People's Perceptions of Safety in Religious and Other Faith-Based Settings. Journal of interpersonal violence, https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221117548 .
• Russell, D. H., Hoq, M., Coghill, D. R., & Pang, K. (2022). Prevalence of mental health problems in transgender children aged 9 to 10 years in the U.S., 2018. JAMA Open Network. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2794486
• Russell, D. H., Trew, S, & Higgins, D. (2021). Vulnerable yet forgotten: A systematic review identifying the lack of evidence for effective suicide interventions for young people in contact with child protection systems. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000555
• Russell, D. H., Anderson, J., Riggs, D., Ullman, J., & Higgins, D. (2020). Gender diversity and safety climate perceptions in schools and other youth-serving organisations. Children and Youth Services Review, 105334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105334
• Russell, D. H., Higgins, D., & Posso, A. (2020). Preventing child sexual abuse: A systematic review of interventions and their efficacy in developing countries. Child Abuse and Neglect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104395
• Russell, D. H. & Higgins, D. (2019). Safeguarding Capabilities in Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Exploratory Factor Analysis of a Scale Measuring Safeguarding Capabilities in Youth-Serving Organizations Workers. Child Maltreatment, https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559519870253
• Bertl, B., Andrzejewski, D., Hyland, L., Shrivastava, A., Russell, D. H., & Pietschnig, J. (2019). My grade, my right: linking academic entitlement to academic performance. Social Psychology of Education, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-019-09509-2
• Russell, D. H. & Warner, R. (2017). Motivational intermediaries of self-regulation among university students. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 9(3). 448-464. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-08-2015-0062
• Presentations
• Russell, D. H. (2023, 18 Feb). Young people's views about safety and whom they would share safety concerns. Paper presented at the Australian Psychological Society College of Educational & Developmental Psychologists Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Russell, D. H. (2023, 14 Feb). Prevalence of mental health problems in 9-to-10-year-old trans and gender diverse children. Paper presented at the Australian Psychological Society College of Educational & Developmental Psychologists Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Russell, D. H. & Higgins, D. J. (2022, 17 June). Who really needs to know how to listen to safety concerns: Friends and safeguarding. Paper presented at the Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Russell, D. H. (2022, 17 June). Young people's perception of safety is related to their mental health and wellbeing. ePoster presented at the Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Russell, D. H. (2022, 16 June). Reducing screen time: Factors behind parents' limiting screen time for children. Paper presented at the Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Russell, D. H. (2022, 16 June). What do children hope for when feeling unsafe in organisations? ePoster presented at the Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Russell, D. H. (2022, 16 June). Mental health of trans children in a representative population sample. ePoster presented at the Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Russell, D. H. (2022, 16 June). How safe are youth-serving organisations? The Children and Young People's Safety Project. ePoster presented at the Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Russell, D. H. (2019, 27 Nov). Young people's perception of safety in youth-serving organisations is related to their quality of life … but not in every context. Paper presented at the Australian Association for Adolescent Health Youth Health Conference, Melbourne, Australia
• Russell, D. (2019, 4 Oct). Ask young people: The law of listening to children. Paper presented at the Australia New Zealand Education and Law Association conference, Melbourne, Australia.
• Higgins, D. & Russell, D. (2019, 19 July). The Children's Safety Studies. Keynote presentation to Catholic Diocesan Leadership Day: Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults - A conversation across the Diocese of Darwin (St John's Catholic College, Darwin).
• Russell, D. & Lindsay, N. (2018, August). Monitoring Children's Perceptions of Safety Across Multiple Programs in a Community Organisation. Paper presented at the Association of Children's Welfare Agency Conference, Sydney, Australia.
• Saponko, Y. & Russell, D. (2017, April). Fostering transformative learning and change in coaching: coach's experience and perception of his role in evoking transformation. A qualitative study. Poster presented at the first Middle East Psychological Association conference, Dubai. U.A.E.
• Russell, D. (2017, April). The influence of an authoritarian parenting style on psychological well-being in later life. Poster presented at the first Middle East Psychological Association conference, Dubai. U.A.E.
• Kabli, A. & Russell, D. (2017, April). Teacher Stress and Coping in Dubai Based Teachers: An Interpretative Phenomenological Exploration. Poster presented at the first Middle East Psychological Association conference, Dubai, U.A.E.
• Sanderson, K., Russell, D., Henry, G., Roberts, S., Javed, A., Majumdar, S., . . . Cruz, A. Do you need some TLC? Presentation at Middlesex University Research Seminar
• Russell, D. (2016, October). Genetic contributions to the development of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Poster presented at the Autism around the World Conference, Dubai, U.A.E.
• Russell, D. (2016, July). Engendered well-being: The importance of being content with one's gender identity. International Journal of Psychology 51(S1), July 2016, p. 609-621. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ijop.12320
• Russell, D. (2016, July). The influence of parents' attitudes and perceived norms on the behaviour of restricting children's' screen time. International Journal of Psychology 51(S1), July 2016, p. 580-596. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ijop.12318
• Russell, D. (2016, June). TED-Ed web-based blended learning to support teaching: An action research project. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Higher Education Advances, Valencia, Spain.
• Kashi, A. S., Russell, D., & Hyland, L. (2016, 11th May). Research Ethics. Presentation at Middlesex University Dubai Research Seminar.
• Russell, D. (2015, August). The predictive value of creativity, working memory and temperament on schizotypy: A study among school children. Paper presented at the New Zealand Psychological Society conference
• Non-peer reviewed Publication
• Russell, D. H., & Higgins, D. J. (2021). Children and young people's safety: 2018-2020 Report. Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University. https://doi.org/10.26199/sjap-kn57
• Russell, D. & Higgins, D. (2018). The Children's Safety Survey (CSS): Prospectus [online]. Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University: Melbourne Available at: https://safeguardingchildren.acu.edu.au/self-assessment
• Russell, D. & Higgins, D. (2018). The Safeguarding Capabilities in Preventing Child Sexual Abuse Survey (SCIPCSA): Prospectus [online]. Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University: Melbourne Available at: https://safeguardingchildren.acu.edu.au/self-assessment
• Commissioned Reports
• Trew, S., Russell, D. H., Higgins, D. J., & Walsh, K. (2021). Effective delivery methods and teaching strategies for child sexual abuse prevention: A rapid evidence check. Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University. DOI: 10.26199/rdbq-xm46
• Trew, S., Russell, D. H., & Higgins, D. (2020). Effective interventions to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviours among children in contact with child protection and out-of-home care systems - a rapid evidence review. Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University. https://doi.org/10.26199/5f1771a5a6b9e
• Russell, D., Higgins, D., & Stewart, J. (2019). Safety survey data from Victorian youth-serving organisations: Survey data from workers, young people, and organisational leaders' self-reflections after implementing the Victorian Child Safe Standards. A report to the Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services. Melbourne: Australian Catholic University - Institute of Child Protection Studies. https://doi.org/10.26199/5e27ad866a7c7