Our team is here to answer your questions and help you learn more about the Centre for Relationships, Trauma, Addiction and Aggression.
Aggression research
Our research examines the nature, drivers, and impacts of aggression and violence across the lifespan.
How we turn aggression research into better outcomes for communities
We focus on both physical and non-physical aggression and violence, recognising that it is a complex human behaviour that requires responses that recognise it as such. Our work centres on understanding aggressive and violent behaviour as dynamic and embedded within broader social and psychological systems. For example, recent research within the team demonstrates the bidirectional nature of relational aggression, identifying that individuals often experience both victimisation and perpetration, and that such aggression is associated with broader patterns of physical and version aggressive behaviour.
By integrating psychological theory with applied and population-level research, the research within this stream aims to inform prevention, early intervention and system-level responses to aggressive and violent behaviour across the lifespan. We aim to enhance identification, understanding and responses to aggressive and violent behaviour across communities, services and policy contexts.
Our focus areas
Across the stream, researchers investigate multiple interconnected areas of aggression and violence, including:
- child and adolescent family violence (e.g., child-to-parent violence)
- intimate partner violence, including coercive control and psychological abuse
- workplace and peer-based relational aggression
- the role of personality, cognition, and social context in aggressive behaviour
- overlapping roles of victimisation and perpetration across the lifespan
- the effectiveness of relationship interventions for aggressive and violent behaviour.
Our feature projects
Led by Dr Ashlee Curtis and Dr Richelle Mayshak, our team brings together researchers with expertise in aggression and violence across family, peer, and community contexts. Some of our current projects explore:
Understanding what drives children’s use of aggression in the home, with the goal of informing prevention and intervention strategies.
Examination of family violence, including how personality traits relate to aggression and the dynamics of non-physical forms of aggression.
Investigation of relational and social aggression, including how it manifests in workplace settings and peer dynamics in sports contexts.
Our research partnerships
Our work is supported through strong partnerships with community and service organisations, enabling translation of research into practice across prevention, intervention, and service delivery contexts. Some of our partners include:
- Meli
- Coral Tree
- Rite Mentoring
- Autism Abilities
- Odyssey House
Contact us
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