Dr Kara Dadswell
About
Kara is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the College of Sport, Health and Engineering, Chair of the Bachelor of Psychological Studies (Honours) Course, and Research Fellow in the Institute of Health and Sport at Victoria University. Kara has research expertise in understanding young people who misuse fire, and strategies and approaches for prevention and intervention.
Kara’s PhD research “Predicting Recidivism in Young People who Light Fire: Finalisation, Implementation and Evaluation of a Screening Tool” was a collaborative project with Fire Risk Victoria’s Firelighting Consequences Awareness Program. This project led to the implementation of a triaging tool that is now used to inform treatment needs and intervention pathways for young firesetters. In addition, Kara’s expertise in risk assessment and screening tool development have resulted in her being part of a successful grant project with Department of Home Affairs to investigate Australian youth engagement in violent extremism and develop the Youth-Pro Integration Model (Y-PIM) of harm prevention for young people.