Key details
Dr Sajid Humayun
Associate Professor of Developmental Psychopathology
Sajid is an Associate Professor of Developmental Psychopathology. He is an expert in evaluating interventions, particularly for youth violence and crime and Child Criminal Exploitation, and advises What Works Centres on evaluation methodology.
Sajid joined the School of Human Sciences (previously Dept. Psychology and Counselling) in 2015 and prior to that was a Lecturer in Criminology in the Law School. He is the module leader for the Development of Delinquency and Psychopathy module and also teaches on the Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology module.
Posts held previously:
2015-24, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich
2013-15, Lecturer, Criminology, School of Law, University of Greenwich
2012-13, Senior Lecturer, Psychology and Head of Research, Newham College University Centre
2012-12, Research Associate/Teaching Fellow, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London
2007-12, Project Lead, National Academy for Parenting Practitioners, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Responsibilities within the university
He is School Lead for Public and Third Sector Collaborations and contributes to the development of staff Knowledge Exchange and consultancy activity with the School.
Recognition
2025-present: Foundations: Parenting Interventions Practice Guide Advisory Panel
2024-2025: Foundations: Guidebook Evidence Standards Panel
2023-present: Foundations: Evidence and Advisory Panel
2023-present: Behavioural Insights Team Ending Youth Violence Lab: member of research ethics panel
2023-present: Behavioural Insights Team Ending Youth Violence Lab: academic advisor to the GenPMTO trial
2023: Behavioural Insights Team Ending Youth Violence Lab: contributing to evidence manifesto
2022-present: Child Rights and Youth Justice: member academic advisory panel
2020-2023: Anna Freud Centre, UCL: External examiner for MSc Early Child Development and Clinical Applications
Research / Scholarly interests
Sajid’s research interests include child criminal exploitation and the development of antisocial behaviour, youth crime and psychopathic traits, investigating both environmental influences, such as parenting, attachment and abuse, and individual differences, such as genetics and social cognitive biases. He evaluates interventions for delinquency, conduct problems and criminal exploitation and portability of evidence-based interventions into the UK.
Key funded projects
| Year | Project Title | Funding Amount | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-2027 | Youth Endowment Fund | £639,000 | Efficacy Randomised Controlled Trial of Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities: Safer Lives for youth offending and violence (role: PI) |
| 2025-2027 | Youth Endowment Fund | £127,260 | Do Parenting Interventions Lead to Long-Term Reductions in Youth Violence, Secondary Data Analysis Grant (role: PI) |
| 2025-2026 | Youth Endowment Fund | £239,237 | Indicators Associated with Violence and its Underlying Causes, Secondary Data Analysis Grant (role: Co-I) |
| 2024 | London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime/Youth Justice Legal Centre | £1,500 | Child First Custody Training and Research Pilot (role: consultant) |
| 2023-2027 | Youth Endowment Fund | £637,768 | Efficacy Randomised Controlled Trial of Functional Family Therapy-Extra Familial Harm for County Lines Involvement and Child Criminal Exploitation (role: PI) |
| 2023 | Foundations | various | Evidence Panels to rate interventions |
| 2022 -23 | Behavioural Insights Team Ending Youth Violence Lab | £3,024 | Contributing to strategic priorities and evidence manifesto (role: consultant) |
| 2022-23 | Youth Endowment Fund | various | Paid reviews (role: consultant) |
| 2017-23 | Early Intervention Foundation | various | Evidence Sub-Panels to rate interventions |
| 2020 | Family Psychology Mutual | £5,000 | Lessons learnt from delivery of Functional Family Therapy online (role: consultant) |
| 2019 | Youth Endowment Fund | £1,23,500 | Feasibility and pilot study of Functional Family Therapy-Gangs for County Lines involvement and gang exploitation (role: PI) |
| 2013 | British Council | To attend and present at Early Career Researcher Workshop ‘Psychiatry Meets Criminology’, Sao Paulo, Brazil | |
| 2018 | Greenwich Research and Enterprise | £1,107 | Seedcorn fund |
| 2018 | Greenwich Research and Enterprise | £1,270 | International research collaboration competitive grant |
| 2015 | Greenwich Research and Enterprise | £5,098 | Theory of Mind and transition to primary school (role: PI) |
| 2014 | Greenwich Research and Enterprise | £10,028 | What aspects of the parent-child relationship are associated with antisocial behaviour? Informing the design of a new parenting intervention for adolescent antisocial behaviour, Conduct Disorder and youth crime (role: PI) |
| 2014 | Greenwich Research and Enterprise | £37,901 | Personality, cognitive and social factors in children with anti-social behaviour (PI: P. Maras; role: CI) |
| 2013 | British Council | To attend and present at Early Career Researcher Workshop ‘Psychiatry Meets Criminology’, Sao Paulo, Brazil |
Recent publications
Presentations
Humayun, S, Axford, N., Box, L., Downham, L., Jolliffe, D., Lennox, C., Mehay, A., Hill, K.G.**. *Chair; **Discussant. (September, 2025). Evaluating Interventions for Youth Offending, Violence and Criminal Exploitation in the UK. Symposium at the European Society for Prevention Research Annual Conference. Berlin, Germany.
Jefford, T. & Humayun, S. (2024, April). A Randomised Controlled Trial of Functional Family Therapy-Extra Familial Harm: From Pilot to Efficacy Trial. Presentation at the European Crime Prevention Network Biannual Conference. Tallinn, Estonia.
Humayun, S. (2019, August). Lessons learnt from evaluating Functional Family Therapy in the UK. Presentation at the inaugural Youth Endowment Fund evaluator panel workshop. London, UK (invited).
O’Connor, T, Scott, S., & Humayun, S. (2017, June). Attachment security in adolescence: Origins in childhood parenting quality, relation to offending, and contribution to psychopathy. Symposium at the International Attachment Conference. London, UK.
Humayun, S., O’Connor, T, Briskman, J., & Scott, S. (2015, September). The relationship between attachment, parental supervision and antisocial behaviour in adolescents. Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Developmental Section and Social Section Annual Conference. Manchester, UK.
Humayun, S., Oliver, B.R., Malpass, E., Chesnokov, M., & Scott, S. (2015, March). Drowned Out? Household chaos negates the effect of positive parenting on non-violent antisocial behaviour in juvenile delinquents. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference. Philadelphia, USA.
Humayun, S. & Pearce, J. (2015, March). Functional Family Therapy in the UK: Clinical practice, implementation and evaluation. Paper presented at the Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Emanuel Miller Conference. London, UK (invited).
Scott, S. & Humayun, S. (2015, February). Will it work in the UK? A randomized controlled trial of Functional Family Therapy for young offenders in England. Paper presented at the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Winter Institute Day. London, UK (invited).
Humayun, S., Viding, E., Cheng, V., Briskman, J., & Scott, S. (2014, November). Early experience of abuse and the development of psychopathic traits in adolescence. Paper presented at American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting. San Francisco, USA.
Humayun, S., Herlitz, L., Doolan, M., Landau, S., & Scott, S. (2014, May). A randomised controlled trial of Functional Family Therapy for young offenders. Paper presented at European Association for Forensic Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Congress. Manchester, UK.
Humayun, S., O’Connor, T., Briskman, J., & Scott, S. (2014, March). Etiology and adolescent outcomes of Oppositional Defiant Disorder subtypes in middle childhood. Poster presented at British Council/FAPESP Psychiatry Meets Criminology Workshop. Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Asmussen, K., Allen, J., Humayun, S. (2010, July). The role of the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners. Symposium at the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies Annual Conference, Convener: Humayun, S. Manchester, UK.
Danese, A., Gilbert, R., Humayun, S. & Scott, S. (2010, October). Child maltreatment: Integrating evidence to improve outcomes. Symposium at the Royal College of Psychiatrists Faculty of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Conference. Convener: Danese, A. Oxford, UK.
Humayun, S. (2010, September). Efficient Social Learning: Imitation and emulation in toddlers. Paper presented at BPS Developmental Psychology Section Conference. London, UK.