Associate Professor
Adrian Kelly
Faculty of Health,
School of Psychology & Counselling
Biography
My main interests are in adolescent mental health. I do most of my teaching in and around adolescent substance use (alcohol, tobacco, vaping, cannabis), other addictive behaviours like gaming and sports betting), depression, anxiety, and early trauma. I have a strong interest in building the skills of Australian undergraduates and postgraduates to an ever-evolving psychology workplace. I believe strongly in the value of high quality research, and grounding adolescent mental health practice and policy in evidence-based theory.I am an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in the QUT School of Psychology and Counselling and Fellow of the APS Clinical College and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Together with colleagues from Deakin University we have recently inaugurated the Asia-Pacific Society for Prevention Research (APSPR), and have a publication coming out in 2024 that overviews prevention research and practice across the Asia-Pacific reason. We are building a network of colleagues that currently extend to India and Timor Leste, and we warmly welcome interested people to help us build this organisation. I am also a member of the Centre for Inclusive Education, the Australia-China Center for Public Health and I am part of the Child adversity, mental health and resilience theme at the QUT Centre for Child Health and Well-being.
I have led several ARC Discovery Projects and NHMRC grants as first chief investigator, and I have held an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship. My contribution to reducing the impact of drug and alcohol problems in young people has been recognised at Federal and State levels, Many of my students have published their research in top tier journals, received prestigious university and national scholarships/fellowships, and won prestigious international travel fellowships.
I also have a Master of Business Administration (UQ) and I have considerable experience in helping build clinical start-ups into strong internationally recognised practices.
Here are some recent publications, please do check these out on QUT EPRINTS or PURE, or email me and I will send you a preprint:
Kelly, A. B., Munnings, A., Zhao, X, Rowland, B., Laurens, K. R., Campbell, M., Williams, J., Bailey, J., Killingly, C., Abimanyi-Ochom, J., Kremer, P., & Toumbourou, J. W. (2023). Polydrug use in Australian 12-14 year olds from 2006 to 2017: An examination of drug use profiles, emotional control problems, and family relationship characteristics. Australian Journal of Psychology, 75(1), 1-9. DOI: 10.1080/00049530.2023.2174705
Simcoe, S. M., Gilmour, J., Garnett, M. S., Attwood, T., Donovan, C., & Kelly, A. B. (2022). Are there gender-based variations in the presentation of Autism amongst female and male children? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05552-9. Q1
Rowland, B., Kelly, A. B., Benstead, M., Heerde, J., Clancy, E., Bailey, J., Hallam, B., Mohebbi, M., Horner, R., & Toumbourou, J. W. (2022). School environment influences on adolescent depression: A six-year longitudinal study. Journal of Religion and Health. Accepted 23/1/2022. Q1
Rowland, B., Kelly, A. B., Mohebbi, M., Kremer, P., Abraham, C., Abimanyi-Ochom., J., Carter, R., Williams, J., Smith, R., Osborn, A., Hall, J., Hosseini, T., Renner, H., Toumbourou, J. W. (2022). Evaluation of community coalition training effects on municipal youth crime rates in Victoria, Australia: 2010 – 2019. Prevention Science, 23, 24–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-021-01297-6. Q1
Mehta, D. & Kelly*, A. B., Laurens, K. R., Haslam, D., Williams, K. E., Walsh, K., Baker, P., Carter, H. E., Khawaja, N., Zelenko, O., & Mathews, B. (2021). Child maltreatment and long-term physical and mental health outcomes: An exploration of biopsychosocial determinants and implications for prevention. Child Psychiatry and Human Development. DOI: 10.1007/s10578-021-01258-8. *DM and ABK are joint first authors. Q1
Hayixibayi, A., Strodl, E., Chen, W, & Kelly, A. B. (2021). School-based relationships and problematic internet use amongst Chinese students. PLoS ONE 16(3): e0248600. DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0248600PLoS ONE. Q1
Personal details
Positions
- Associate Professor
Faculty of Health,
School of Psychology & Counselling
Keywords
adolescents, mental health, substance use and misuse, families, early interventions, community approaches to prevention, Aspergers Syndrome, programs for managers of people on the autism spectrum, complex risk profiles amongst adolescents
Research field
Psychology
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (University of Queensland)
- Master of Business Administration (University of Queensland)
- Master of Clinical Psychology (University of Queensland)
- Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology (University of Queensland)
- Bachelor of Science (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
- Deputy Director - Asia Pacific Society for Prevention Research
- Member - Centre for Inclusive Education
- Registered Psychologist, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
- Fellow of the College of Clinical Psychologists (APS)
- AHPRA approved clinical supervisor
- Theme leader - Child Adversity, mental health and resilience - QUT Centre for Child Health and Well-being
- Honorary Associate Professor - UQ School of Psychology
- Senior Fellow - Higher Education Academy
- Member - Australia China Center for Public Health
- College of Higher Degree Research - Mentoring Supervisors
- Editorial Board Member - Substance use and Misuse
- Senior Fellow - Institute of Business and Economics (2017-2018)
Teaching
Being a part of the academic growth and career trajectories of young people is a great privilege. I convene two units - Individual Differences and Assessment (PYB309), and Interventions for Addictive Behaviours (PYB360). I work with a great group of guest lecturers who bring a wealth of experience across diverse topics.
In Individual Differences and Assessment, we cover these and other topics:
- Contemporary models of human behaviour
- Measurement of psychological constructs
- Applications of theory to contemporary challenges, such as parenting, education, vocational training, and drug use.
In Interventions for Addictive Behaviours, we cover:
- Key concepts of addiction and drug abuse
- Assessment tools and techniques
- Development and maintenance of alcohol and other drug misuse
- Evidence-based early interventions
- Community coalition approaches to drug and alcohol prevention
- Pharmacological treatments for alcohol and drug dependence
Experience
My research is focused on adapting what we know works in highly controlled research environments to community settings where problems are often clustered and multi-level, and understanding contextual inhibitors to behavioural change. Much of the work of myself and my team is focused on person-centred empirical methodologies (e.g., latent cluster/profile analysis), where the emphasis is on understanding collateral issues affecting long term outcomes, rather than variable-centred approaches that often de-contextualize problems.
Our national team is implementing a Type II translational trial of a community-based approach to adolescent alcohol problems and school disengagement. This trial is the first of its kind and is operating across three Australian States. We have recently published 2 papers in Prevention Science showing positive effects across communities on youth violence and alcohol use. These approaches are all about developing local coalitions to implement evidence-based practices that address problems prioritised by communities.
Publications
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Adrian, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Selected research projects
- Title
- Estimating the contribution of adolescent alcohol misuse prevention to the reduction of alcohol-related harm in Australia
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1087781
- Start year
- 2015
- Keywords
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Looking for a postgraduate research supervisor?
I am currently accepting research students for Honours, Masters and PhD study.
You can browse existing student topics offered by QUT or propose your own topic.