Claire Monks

Professor Claire Monks PhD, MSc, BSc(Hons), PGCert

Professor of Developmental Psychology and Deputy Head of ILD

Professor Claire Monks is a Professor of Developmental Psychology and Deputy Head of ILD (The Institute for Lifecourse Development) at the University of Greenwich.

She is also a Centre Lead for the Centre for Vulnerable Children, Young People and Families in the Institute for Lifecourse Development.

Claire teaches Developmental Psychology and Research Methods at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. She is also a Doctoral student supervisor – she has supervised 10 doctoral students to successful completion.

Claire's research and lecturing interest is developmental psychology, particularly on aggressive behaviour. She has researched on developmental origins of aggressive and bullying behaviour among young children when they first enter school, examined cyberbullying among primary school-aged pupils and dating aggression among adolescents.

Claire has research links with international colleagues and has published collaboratively with colleagues in Europe, Asia and South America.

Posts held previously:

  • 2019 Interim Director of Research and Enterprise, Faculty of Education and Health at the University of Greenwich
  • 2014 - 2019 Reader in Developmental Psychology at the University of Greenwich
  • 2010 - 2017 Programme Leader for MPhil/PhD Psychology at the University of Greenwich
  • 2007 - 2014 Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Greenwich:
  • 2003 - 2007 Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Kingston University
  • 2001 - 2003 Lecturer in Psychology at Kingston University
  • 2000 Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Seville in Spain.

Psychology

Allied health professions, dentistry, nursing and pharmacy

Responsibilities within the university
  • Professor of Developmental Psychology and Deputy Head of ILD (The Institute for Lifecourse Development)
  • Centre Lead for Centre for Vulnerable Children, Young People and Families 2019 - Leading a Centre of Research and Practice within the Institute for Lifecourse Development
  • Chair of Faculty Research Degrees Committee 2018 - Claire chairs this committee which oversees PGR student progression within the Faculty.

Recognition
  • External Examiner for FD Psychology for Education Professionals at Birkbeck, University of London (2016 -2020)
  • PhD Examiner for more than 10 doctorates nationally and internationally
  • Member of the British Psychological Society.
  • Journal Editorial Board Membership: 
    • International Journal of Early Childhood Education (Editorial Board Member)
    • Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research (Editorial Board Member)
    • Psychology, Society and Education (Associate Editor).

Research / Scholarly interests

Claire's research interests lie in the field of Developmental Psychology. In particular, she has investigated the development of aggressive behaviour in childhood. She has published on aggression in early childhood, cyberbullying in middle childhood and adolescence as well as other forms of aggression including dating violence. Claire is interested in applying diverse approaches to the study of peer-relations among young people and have employed advanced methods such as social network analysis to furthering our understanding of the aggressive and defending relations between children. She is also interested in the development of social cognition in relation to behaviour and have published on hot and cool executive functions and theory of mind as predictors of aggression and prosocial behaviour and within populations of young people with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Claire has an interest in modelling developmental trajectories and examining longitudinal relations.

Key funded projects

Last 3 years

2019 - Co-Investigator examining the effectiveness of Speak Out. Stay Safe. for children with SEND. Funded by NSPCC. PI Professor Nicky Stanley, UCLAN 2018 - Co-Investigator on study evaluation of Speak Out. Stay Safe. Funded by NSPCC. PI Professor Nicky Stanley, UCLAN

2018- Co-Investigator on Developmental Processes of Adolescent Dating: Romantic Competence and Social Adjustment, Spanish Government (FEDER scheme), with Dr Carmen Viejo, University of Córdoba, Spain. (30,000 Euro)

2017- PI on a study investigating child-to-parent aggression. University of Greenwich.

Recent publications

Article

Garcia Fernandez, Cristina , Romera Felix, Eva, Ortega Ruiz, Rosario, Monks, Claire (2025), The social preference and friendship in early school-aged children and their relationship with behavior aggression. Taylor and Francis Group - Routledge. In: , , , . Taylor and Francis Group - Routledge, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education ISSN: 1090-1027 (Print), 1745-5642 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2025.2518499) NB Item availability restricted.

McCarthy, Anna , Rudolph, Julia I., Fry, Deborah, Monks, Claire P. , Pacella, Rosana , Meinck, Franziska (2025), Measuring violence against children in a national prevalence survey in the UK: questionnaire development and content validity. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Child Abuse & Neglect, 167: 107578 ISSN: 0145-2134 (Print), 1873-7757 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107578).

Görzig, Anke , Betts, Lucy R., Maunder, Rachel, Monks, Claire P. , De Amicis, Leyla , Bennett, Sam (2025), Teachers’ responses to identity-based bullying: social inequality, identity and diversity at teacher and school level. Springer. In: , , , . Springer, International Journal of Bullying Prevention ISSN: 2523-3653 (Print), 2523-3661 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-024-00281-2).

Espino, Esperanza , Monks, Claire P., Casas, José A., Del Rey, Rosario (2025), The role of bullying victimisation, online activity, and parental supervision on the emotional impact of cyberbullying. Springer. In: , , , . Springer, Journal of Child and Family Studies ISSN: 1062-1024 (Print), 1573-2843 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-024-02982-0) NB Item availability restricted.

Monks, Claire P. and , Rix, Katie (2024), Friendships among young children: links with social behaviour. Routledge. In: , , , . Routledge, Early Child Development and Care ISSN: 0300-4430 (Print), 1476-8275 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2024.2418296).

Rix, Katie and , Monks, Claire P. (2024), Exploring children's self-reports of victimisation experiences and solitary, prosocial, and aggressive behaviours. MDPI. In: , , , . MDPI, Psychology International, 6 (4) . pp. 868-889 2813-9844 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/psycholint6040056).

Monks, Claire P. and , Maunder, Rachel (2024), Healthy relationships education - it’s not all about sex! A commentary on the importance of children’s friendships within the pastoral curriculum. Routledge. In: , , , . Routledge, Pastoral Care in Education ISSN: 0264-3944 (Print), 1468-0122 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2024.2333855).

Nation, Alexandra , Pacella, Rosana, Monks, Claire, Mathews, Ben , Meinck, Franziska (2023), Prevalence of violence against children in the United Kingdom: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Elsevier - International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. In: , , , . Elsevier - International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Child Abuse and Neglect, 146: 106518 . pp. 1-16 ISSN: 0145-2134 (Print), (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106518).

Rix, Katie , Monks, Claire P., O'Toole, Sarah (2023), Theory of mind and young children’s behaviour: aggressive, victimised, prosocial, and solitary. MDPI. In: , , , . MDPI, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20: 5892 (10) ISSN: 1661-7827 (Print), 1660-4601 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20105892).

Stanley, N , Devaney, J, Kurdi, Z, Ozdemir, U , Barter, C , Monks, Claire , Edwards, RT , Batool, F , Charles, J , Farrelly, N (2023), What makes for effectiveness when starting early: learning from an integrated school-based violence and abuse prevention programme for children under 12. Elsevier - International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. In: , , , . Elsevier - International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Child Abuse and Neglect, 139: 106109 . pp. 1-14 ISSN: 0145-2134 (Print), (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106109).

Barter, Christine , Batool, Farwa, Charles, Joanna, Devaney, John , Farelley, Nicola , Hayes, David , Kurdi, Zain , Millar, Annemarie , Monks, Claire , Richardson-Foster, Helen (2022), Conducting large-scale mixed-method research on harm and abuse prevention with children under 11: learning from a UK feasibility study. Wiley. In: , , , . Wiley, Children and Society . pp. 1-18 ISSN: 0951-0605 (Print), 1099-0860 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12658).

Garcia-Fernandez, Cristina M. , Romera, Eva M., Monks, Claire, Ortega-Ruiz, Rosario (2022), Peer aggression and victimisation: social behaviour strategies in early childhood in Spain. Springer. In: , , , . Springer, Early Childhood Education Journal, 51 . pp. 837-849 ISSN: 1082-3301 (Print), 1573-1707 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01348-9).

Kucaba, Katarzyna and , Monks, Claire (2022), Peer relations and friendships in early childhood: the association with peer victimization. Wiley. In: , , , . Wiley, Aggressive Behavior, 48 (4) . pp. 431-442 ISSN: 0096-140X (Print), 1098-2337 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.22029).

Lee, Seung-Ha , Smith, Peter K., Monks, Claire P. (2021), Moral reasoning about aggressive behavior in relation to type of aggression, age, and gender in South Korean pupils. MDPI. In: , , , . MDPI, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18: 2288 (5) ISSN: 1661-7827 (Print), 1660-4601 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052288).

Jenkins, Ryan , Tsermentseli, Stella, Monks, Claire, Robertson, David , Stevenage, Sarah , Symons, Ashleigh , Davis, Josh P. (2021), Are super-face-recognisers also super-voice-recognisers? Evidence from cross-modal identification tasks. Wiley. In: , , , . Wiley, Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35 (3) . pp. 590-605 ISSN: 0888-4080 (Print), 1099-0720 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3813).

Monks, Claire P. , Smith, Peter K., Kucaba, Kat (2021), Peer victimisation in early childhood; observations of participant roles and sex differences. MDPI. In: , , , . MDPI, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18: 415 (2) ISSN: 1661-7827 (Print), 1660-4601 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020415).

O'Toole, Sarah , Monks, Claire, Tsermentseli, Stella, Papastergiou, Athanasia (2020), A qualitative exploration of practitioners' understanding of and response to child-to-parent aggression. SAGE. In: , , , . SAGE, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37 (11-12) . pp. NP8274-NP8296 ISSN: 0886-2605 (Print), 1552-6518 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520967142).

Roberts, Alan P. , Monks, Claire, Tsermentseli, Stella (2020), The influence of gender and resource holding potential on aggressive and prosocial resource control strategy choice in early childhood. Frontiers Media. In: , , , . Frontiers Media, Frontiers in Education, 5: 593763 2504-284X (Online) (doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.593763).

Cogswell, Suzanne , Carr, Amanda, Abbott, Nicola, Monks, Claire P. (2020), The development and validation of a teacher-reported low-level classroom disruption scale (LLCD-S). Taylor & Francis. In: , , , . Taylor & Francis, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 25 (3-4) . pp. 230-243 ISSN: 1363-2752 (Print), 1741-2692 (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2020.1816651).

Marin-Lopez, Inmaculada , Zych, Izabella, Ortega-Ruiz, Rosario, Monks, Claire P. , Llorent, Vicente J. (2020), Empathy online and moral disengagement through technology as longitudinal predictors of cyberbullying victimization and perpretation. Elsevier. In: , , , . Elsevier, Children and Youth Services Review, 116: 105144 ISSN: 0190-7409 (Print), (doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105144).

Conference item

Görzig, Anke , Betts, Lucy R., Maunder, Rachel, Monks, Claire P. , De Amicis, Leyla , Bennett, Sam (2024), The role of social inequality and identity at teacher and school level for teachers’ responses to identity-based bullying. In: 28th Workshop on Aggression, 21st - 22nd November, 2024, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham , . , (doi: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0030/2539218/28th-Workshop-on-Aggression-Programme.pdf).

Görzig, Anke , Smith, Rebecca, Monks, Claire, Thompson, Jessica , Charafeddine, Dima (2022), Social media ostracism in the context of university and discriminated against group membership. In: Annual Meeting of the Social Psychology section of the British Psychological Society, 5th September 2022, London , . , (doi: ).

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