Dr Aida Malovic

My research is applied in nature and focuses on intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), adolescents, mental health, well-being, and the clinical and forensic needs of individuals who engage in risky behaviours, including harmful sexual behaviour (HSB). I have a particular interest in developing and evaluating assessment tools and intervention programmes for young people with IDD who display HSB.

I am currently the Course Director for the MSc Psychology programme at Canterbury Christ Church University, where I teach across a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules in forensic, clinical, and applied psychology.

My PhD research centred on the adaptation and validation of assessment tools for young people with IDD who display harmful sexual behaviours, aiming to improve clinical assessment and intervention planning in this complex area.

I was one of the researchers involved in the development of the Keep Safe programme, an evidence-based intervention designed to support young people with IDD in understanding and managing their behaviour, developing healthy relationships, and reducing risk. Alongside my research in this area, I deliver practitioner training nationally and contribute to the development of specialist resources and policy guidance.

My research projects include the continued evaluation and dissemination of Keep Safe, exploring practitioner experiences and training needs when working with young people with IDD and HSB, and investigating broader issues of mental health, quality of life, and risk for individuals with IDD in both forensic and community contexts. I have also contributed to systematic reviews examining interventions and outcomes for people with IDD, with the aim of translating evidence into practical applications for services and policy. In recent years, I have expanded my research into exploring experiences of motherhood, including role stresses during extreme events.

I currently supervise a PhD student researching Im/migrant mothers’ experiences of breastfeeding, focusing on the role of emotions in infant-feeding behaviours and experiences. I also supervise postgraduate students on a range of topics related to autism, intellectual disabilities, well-being, and resilience.

Prior to my current role, I worked as a Research Assistant at the Tizard Centre, University of Kent, and as part of a multidisciplinary team within a specialist service for children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviours at the NSPCC. Throughout my academic career, I have lectured at the Tizard Centre, Canterbury Christ Church University, the School of Psychology, and the Centre for Health Services Studies (CHSS) at the University of Kent. I have developed new teaching modules in response to emerging research and student feedback, ensuring that my teaching remains research-led and practice-informed.

My main teaching area is well-being, with a special interest in its applied work and across clinical contexts. My current teaching responsibilities, by level, are as follows.

• Level 6 (Year 3): Therapeutic Approaches to Wellbeing
• Masters Conversion Course: Personality and Individual Differences
• Masters Conversion Course: Health and Wellbeing

I am also

• L5 Year Coordinator

Supervision: I am involved in the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate research dissertations. My preference is the use of quantitative methodologies and typically the projects will involve public perceptions, risky behaviours in young people and IDD.

Overall my academic research and clinical work have had an applied focus, and they have included conducting and managing projects across adolescent and adult populations, mainly within the IDD field but also across areas of childhood development, forensic issues, clinical practice, assessment and intervention development, and risk management.

Selected Conference Presentations (since 2014)

Malovic A. (2018). Young people with IDD who display Harmful Sexual behaviours: a case series report. 5^th European IASSIDD conference, Athens.

Malovic A. (2017). Young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who display harmful sexual behaviours: their needs, vulnerabilities and grooming experiences. Presented at the Protecting our children: vulnerabilities to grooming event run by Centre for Child Protection.

Malovic A., L. Cygan L., Richards S., Murphy G., and Rossiter R. (2016). Adolescents with IDD who display harmful sexual behaviours: adaptation of measures. IASSIDD World Congress Melbourne. Publication in Journal of Intellectual Disability Research

Malovic A. Murphy G., and Coulton S. (2016). Adolescents with IDD who display harmful sexual behaviours: adaptation of measures. 16th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Justice Research.

Malovic A. Murphy G., and Rossiter R. (2015). 10^th International Congress of the Eamhid Florence, September 9-11 2015 Integrating Different Approaches in the Neurodevelopmental Perspective. Published in Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 59, 1–139.

Malovic A. (2014). Living in fear: Police Officers’ views, knowledge and experiences related to disability related hate crime. The Social Relations, Transformation and Trust conference Coventry University.

Malovic A., Langdon P., Murphy G., Wilson E., et al (2014). Group cognitive behavioural therapy for people with Asperger syndrome who have problems with anxiety: views of the people with Asperger syndrome. Health: General and Specific Health Issues. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27: 297–328.

Malovic A., Guest C., Beadle-Brown J., Richardson L., Bradshaw J., and Himmerich J. (2014).Police officers' views, knowledge and experiences related to disability-related hate crime, Living in the Community. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 27: 339–356.