Prof Ann Sanson

Ann Sanson’s research career principally focused on social and emotional development from infancy to adulthood, particularly through large-scale longitudinal studies such as the Australian Temperament Project and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

This included research on many areas of child and youth mental health. As her awareness of the implications of the climate crisis for children and young people grew, her work shifted towards seeking to understand the impacts of climate change on young people, how they are responding to awareness of the threat it poses to their future lives, and how they can best be supported to thrive and cope effectively with the crisis.

Ann has over 200 publications and is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development. Besides academic publications, she helps parents, schools and community groups to support children in responding to the climate crisis and lobbies for urgent climate action at local and national levels.