Sophia Backhaus works as an Assistant Professor at the Research Institute of Child Development and Education.
Her research focuses on the effectiveness of interventions to reduce violence against children, and the measurement of physical and emotional violence perpetrated by parents. She bridges psychology, public health, and intervention research, and focuses largely on evidence syntheses (systematic reviews, traditional and individual participant data meta-analysis).
Sophia Backhaus' work directly impacted policy recommendations including those formulated in the WHO Parenting Intervention Guidelines (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240065505).
Sophia Backhaus received her DPhil (2023) in Social Intervention and Policy-Evaluation from the University of Oxford, and her M.Sc. (2017) in Psychology from the University of Konstanz. She visited during her studies the University of Copenhagen, the University of Haifa, and the Eötvös Loránd University.
Key publications:
Backhaus, S., Leijten, P., Meinck, F., & Gardner, F. (2022). Different instruments, same content? A systematic comparison of child maltreatment and harsh parenting instruments. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 15248380221134290.
Backhaus, S., Leijten, P., Jochim, J., Melendez-Torres, G. J., & Gardner, F. (2023). Effects over time of parenting interventions to reduce physical and emotional violence against children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, 60.
Backhaus, S., Gardner, F., Schafer, M., Melendez-Tores, G.J., Knerr, W., & Lachman, J.M. (2023). WHO Guidelines on parenting interventions to prevent maltreatment and enhance parent-child relationships with children aged 0– 17 years: Report of the systematic reviews of evidence. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Alemán-Díaz, A. Y., Backhaus, S., Siebers, L. L., Chukwujama, O., Fenski, F., Henking, C. N., ... & Weber, M. W. (2018). Child and adolescent health in Europe: monitoring implementation of policies and provision of services. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2(12), 891-904.