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Department of Public Health and Primary Care (PHPC)

 

Biography

I am a postdoctoral researcher specializing in child development, mental health, social care, and youth justice. I joined the Applied Social Science Group in 2024 after completing my PhD at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, and working as a postdoctoral research associate at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. Currently, my research is supported by an NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award, and in June 2025, I will begin a Wellcome Trust Early Career Award. My project will explore the impact of social care involvement on the educational and mental health outcomes of children and young people. I employ a range of research methods, including literature reviews, qualitative interviews, and quantitative analysis of electronic healthcare records, to better understand and improve outcomes for children and young people.

Research

Child development, mental health, social care, and youth justice

Publications

Skinner, G. C. M., & Farrington, D. P. (2024). Explaining and Reducing the Poor Health of Individuals Who Engage in Criminal Behaviour. In N. Link, M. Novisky & C. Fahmy (Eds.), The American Society of Criminology Division on Corrections & Sentencing Handbook Series (Volume 9): Contemporary Issues in Health and Punishment. Routledge: New York.

Skinner, G. C. M., & Bywaters, P. W. B. (2024). Poverty, Inequality and Child Maltreatment: What Does Research Tell Us? In E. Fernandez, P. Welborune, B. Lee, & J. L. C. Ma (Eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Child and Family Social Work Research. Routledge: Australia.

Skinner, G. C. M., Hodges, N., & Kennedy, E. (2024). The Unintended Consequences of Social Work Policies and Practice in the Context of Child Maltreatment and Poverty: A Systematic Review. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 7, 615-644. doi: 10.1007/s42448-024-00208-w

Skinner, G. C. M., Lane, C., Hogg, E., Karwatowska, L. A., French, L., Ranieri, V. F., Jesnick, L. G. D., Roberts, C., Scott, S., Senior, R., & Kennedy, E. (2024). Personalised Interventions for Subgroups of Children with Conduct Problems. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 1-21. doi: 10.1080/14789949.2024.2314642

Bywaters, P. W. B., & Skinner, G. C. M. (2022). The Relationship between Poverty and Child Abuse and Neglect: New Evidence. The Nuffield Foundation. Retrieve from: https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Full-report-relationship-between-poverty-child-abuse-and-neglect.pdf

Skinner, G. C. M., Bywaters, P. W. B., & Kennedy, E. (2022). A Review of the Relationship Between Poverty and Child Abuse and Neglect: Insights from Meta-Analyses and Systematic Reviews. Child Abuse Review, 32(2), e2795. doi: 10.1002/car.2795

Skinner, G. C. M., Bywaters, P. W. B., & Kennedy, E. (2022). The Cost-of-Living Crisis, Poverty and Child Maltreatment. The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, 7(1), 5-6. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00252-8

Skinner, G. C. M., Farrington, D. P., & Jolliffe, D. (2021). Criminal Careers and Early Death: Relationships in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. British Journal of Criminology, 62(4), 840-856. Doi: 10.1093/bjc/azab092

Skinner, G. C. M., Bywaters, P. W. B., Bilson, A., Duschinsky, R., Clements, K., & Hutchinson, D. (2020). A Systematic Literature Review for Evidence Behind the Toxic Trio. Children and Youth Services Review, 120, 105678. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105678

Skinner, G. C. M., Farrington, D. P., & Shepherd, J. P. (2020). Offender Trajectories, Health, and Hospital Admissions: Relationships in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 113(3), 110-118. doi: 10.1177/0141076820905319

Van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Duschinsky, R., Fox, N. A., Goldman, P. S., Gunnar, M. R., Johnson, D. E., Nelson, C. A., Reijman, S., Skinner, G. C. M., Zeanah, C. H., & Sonuga-Barke, E. J. S. (2020). Institutionalization and Deinstitutionalization on Children: A Systematic and Integrative Review of Evidence Regarding Effects on Development. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(8), 703-720. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30399-2

Van IJzendoorn, M. H., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Duschinsky, R., & Skinner, G. C. M. (2019). Legislation in Search of ‘Good Enough’ Care Arrangements for the Child: A Quest for Continuity of Care. In J.G. Dwyer (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Children and the Law. Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Teaching and Supervisions

Teaching: 

I supervise on the Psychology and Behavioural Science Tripos 6 - Developmental Psychology module and on the Social and Ethical Context of Health and Illness module in the Primary Care Unit.

Research supervision: 

I welcome PhD students interested in child development, mental health, social care, and youth justice. I am particularly interested in projects that examine policy and practice implications for improving support systems for vulnerable young people.

Research Associate

Contact Details

gs545@cam.ac.uk
Takes PhD students

Affiliations