Rate My Professor Claire Monks

Professor Claire Monks is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Greenwich, Faculty of Education and Health. She serves as Deputy Head of the Institute for Lifecourse Development (ILD) and Centre Lead for the Centre for Vulnerable Children, Young People and Families within the ILD. Additionally, she chairs the Faculty Research Degrees Committee since 2018. Monks holds a PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons), and PGCert. Her research specializations lie in developmental psychology, with a particular emphasis on the developmental origins of aggressive and bullying behaviour among young children as they enter school, cyberbullying among primary school-aged children, dating aggression among adolescents, peer-relations among young people employing diverse methodologies including social network analysis, and the development of social cognition—such as hot and cool executive functions and theory of mind—as predictors of aggression and prosocial behaviour, including in young people with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). She models developmental trajectories and examines longitudinal relations in these areas.

Monks' career at the University of Greenwich began in 2007 as a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, advancing to Reader in Developmental Psychology from 2014 to 2019, and subsequently to her current professorial role. She was Interim Director of Research and Enterprise for the Faculty of Education and Health in 2019 and Programme Leader for MPhil/PhD Psychology from 2010 to 2017. Prior appointments include Senior Lecturer (2003-2007) and Lecturer (2001-2003) in Psychology at Kingston University, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Seville in 2000. Her key publications include "Prevalence of violence against children in the United Kingdom: a systematic review and meta-analysis" (Nation et al., 2023, Child Abuse & Neglect), "Theory of Mind and Young Children’s Behaviour: Aggressive, Victimised, Prosocial, and Solitary" (Rix, Monks, & O'Toole, 2023, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health), "What makes for effectiveness when starting early: learning from an integrated school-based violence and abuse prevention programme for children under 12" (Stanley et al., 2023, Child Abuse & Neglect), "Development and psychometric properties of the Child-to-Parent Aggression Parent-Report (CPA-p)" (Monks et al., 2026, Journal of Child and Family Studies), and contributions to understanding peer victimisation and aggression across developmental stages.