Donna Cross

This article is about the Australian children's health advocate. For the American writer, see Donna Woolfolk Cross.

Professor Donna Cross OAM FAHMS
Director, Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University
In office 2003–2012

Donna Cross is an Australian academic, professor, a child health advocate ^[1] at the School of Global and Population Health within the University of Western Australia and leader of the Telethon Kids Institute. ^{[2] [3]} She was awarded an Order of Australia for her work in children's mental health. ^[4]

Cross is the Chief Investigator and the Western Australian Node Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course. ^[5]

Cross was formerly the Founding Director for the Child Health Promotion Research Centre within the Edith Cowan University, from 2003 to 2012. ^[6] As Founding Director she led projects aimed at promoting the mental development and wellbeing of young people. Cross also created the Friendly Schools Plus (FS+) program, ^{[7] [8]} which has been adopted by over 3,000 schools in Singapore, Australia, the UK, and the USA. ^[9]

Education

Cross received a PhD from Columbia University, in New York, and a Bachelor of Education from the Western Australia Institute of Technology in 1983. ^[10]

Career

Cross has spent her career investigating childhood mental health, safety in schools, and designing and implementing research around well-being in school settings. ^{[11] [12]} She also has researched impacts of cyber-bullying, aggression, and the protection of young adolescents, particularly for implementing her research in real-life settings. ^[13]

Publications

Cross has written 38 books and chapters, as at July 2024, with 173 peer-reviewed journal articles, 95 reports, and more than 100 health education resources. ^[9] Cross has an H-index of 57 and over 12,000 citations, according to google scholar. ^[9]

Select publications include:

• Papageorgiou, A., Fisher, C. and Cross, D. (2022) "Why don’t I look like her?" How adolescent girls view social media and its connection to body image. BMC Women's Health. doi : 10.1186/s12905-022-01845-4
• Lester, L., Cross, D. (2015) The Relationship Between School Climate and Mental and Emotional Wellbeing Over the Transition from Primary to Secondary School. Psych Well-Being5, 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13612-015-0037-8 ^[14]
• Perren, S., Dooley, J., Shaw, T. et al. (2010) Bullying in school and cyberspace: Associations with depressive symptoms in Swiss and Australian adolescents. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health4, 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/1753-2000-4-28. ^[15]
• Cross, D. Waters, S. (2012) Friendly schools plus teacher resource. Early & middle adolescene 11-14 years. ^[16]

Awards

Award for Cross's work in adolescent mental health include the following:

• 2023 - Western Australian Science Hall of Fame. ^[17]
• 2015 - fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science^[3].
• 2012 - Western Australian of the Year Awards,^[4]
• 2012 - Future Justice Prize.^[5]
• 2011 - Cross finalist for the WA Citizen of the Year Award,
• 2011 - WA Scientist of the Year.^[6]

Cross was awarded both the Churchill fellowship and NHMRC Research fellowship in 2016.

References

1. Carroll, Lucy (2023-03-01). "NSW appoints schools behaviour adviser to tackle worsening student conduct". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
2. "Donna Cross". the UWA Profiles and Research Repository. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
3. "Govt House WA".
4. "Bullying expert Donna Cross in Queen's Birthday honours". The West Australian. 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
5. "Members". Life Course Centre. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
6. "Donna Cross". the UWA Profiles and Research Repository. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
7. "ORCID". orcid.org. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
8. "Home - Friendly Schools". friendlyschools.com.au. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
9. "Donna Cross". scholar.google.com.au. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
10. "Donna Cross - Churchill Trust". www.churchilltrust.com.au. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
11. Cross, Donna; Lester, Leanne (2023-07-03). "Teacher's Bookshelf: Wellbeing champions". Teacher Magazine. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
12. Record, The (2024-06-06). "New, exciting, family engagement resources for parents and school staff". The Record. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
13. Altangerel, Zaya (2023-09-14). "WA Premier's Science Awards 2023 Winners – People News". Particle. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
14. Lester, Leanne; Cross, Donna (2015). "The Relationship Between School Climate and Mental and Emotional Wellbeing Over the Transition from Primary to Secondary School". Psychology of Well-Being. 5 (1): 9. doi: 10.1186/s13612-015-0037-8 . ISSN   2211-1522. PMC   4615665 . PMID   26516619.
15. Perren, Sonja; Dooley, Julian; Shaw, Thérèse; Cross, Donna (2010-11-23). "Bullying in school and cyberspace: Associations with depressive symptoms in Swiss and Australian adolescents". Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. 4 (1): 28. doi: 10.1186/1753-2000-4-28 . ISSN   1753-2000. PMC   3003626 . PMID   21092266.
16. "Trove". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
17. "WA Science Hall of Fame". www.wa.gov.au. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-07-24.