Cross is currently 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 historically 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]
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.[14]
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[15]
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.[16]
Cross, D. Waters, S. (2012) Friendly schools plus teacher resource. Early & middle adolescene 11-14 years.[17]
Awards
Award for Cross's work in adolescent mental health include the following:
2023 - Western Australian Science Hall of Fame.[18]
2015 - fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science[3].