Natalie Harrison

Biography

Natalie joined the School of Psychology in April 2023. She completed her BSc, MSc, and PhD studies at the University of Central Lancashire. Natalie also became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in 2019. After obtaining her PhD, Natalie held lectureships in the Division of Psychology at Birmingham City University (2017-2021), and in the Department of Psychology at Bath Spa University (2021-2023). She also worked as a research assistant at the University of Central Lancashire (2016-2017) and Nottingham Trent University (2015-2016).

Natalie’s research is primarily in the areas of domestic violence, aggression, and young people. She spent time working as a research assistant in mental health and policing, providing her with the opportunity to undertake evaluation work on community and health-based initiatives.

Research and scholarship

My work primarily explores aggression in the family. It generally falls into the following areas:

Sibling Aggression - My PhD explored sibling violence and aggression, with a specific focus on how violent behaviours differ from play fighting and the measurement of the construct. I continue to conduct research in this area of family violence, and most recently, I have published a paper exploring how aggression from a sibling in childhood impacts decision making styles in adulthood. My current research in this area is exploring experiences of sibling aggression in more depth.

Domestic Abuse – I have conducted various project s in the field of domestic violence and abuse. These have primarily been evaluation projects that explore the effectiveness of a pilot scheme or intervention. For example, my most recent piece of research explored the effectiveness of domestic abuse perpetrator programmes in sustaining housing tenancies.

Childhood Trauma – I am currently conducting research that explores the long-term impact of experiencing trauma in childhood. In this research we focus on outcomes in relation to executive function and post traumatic growth.

Within my research, I usually use a mixed methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. For example, secondary quantitative data analysis, questionnaires, focus groups and interviews are some of the methods that I use in my work.

Journal reviews

I currently review for the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Journal of Family Violence and the Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace.

Supervision

I am involved in the following doctoral supervisory teams:

• Melindy Brown – “An evaluation of support in the community for released offenders, post-release and on a community sentence, in Staffordshire and the West Midlands, with a particular focus on alcohol-related offending”, Birmingham City University
• Klara Del Moro – Coercive control in intimate partner violence, Birmingham City University
• Dimitra Tsirogianni – “Intimate Partner Violence: The underlying socio-cultural norms of the phenomena in Greek society”, Birmingham City University

Collaborations and grants awards

• Walsall Council (£8979.94), July 2021-April 2023. Research evaluation for “The effectiveness of domestic abuse perpetrator programmes on sustaining housing tenancies across the West Midlands 7 Metropolitan areas”.
• Community University Partnership Initiative grant (£4750), 2019. Research evaluation for “Engaging young men from disadvantaged circumstances in sports-driven programmes to enhance relationship skills, including for intimate relationships”.