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Life after graduate research: Dr Cristina Tambasco
Dr Cristina Tambasco worked to reduce the stigma of child-to-parent violence through her research at the University of Melbourne. Her PhD has led to a research career in the community sector.
Many graduates say opportunities for international research or similar unique experiences were the highlights of their PhDs at the University of Melbourne.
Dr Cristina Tambasco says it’s the little things that she enjoyed most about her PhD in Arts.
“When I look back on that experience, it's really the people that stand out,” she says.
A shared office space helped bring her cohort across criminology, sociology, anthropology and political science together, Dr Tambasco says. She reflects fondly on coffee runs, shared lunches and office shenanigans.
Dr Tambasco is still friends with many of the people she met during her PhD. She believes her friendships helped her maintain a sense of self outside her research.
“Working on a PhD is potentially endless, and it's very easy for the thesis to just bleed into other areas of your life,” Dr Tambasco says.
They made it easier for her to deal with setbacks.
“It's really important that you be adaptable because you can't force an outcome. It's just not how research works,” says Dr Tambasco.
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A PhD means receiving thorough training in research
Dr Tambasco discovered that she liked research while completing a minor thesis as part of her masters by coursework at RMIT. She decided to do a PhD as a pathway to a career in research.
She received a research training program scholarship through the University of Melbourne, which enabled her to pursue a full-time PhD. But Dr Tambasco also found ways to supplement that income.
“When you do a PhD, there are usually other opportunities to do other work alongside of that – research assistant work or tutoring in subjects that you're interested in. That gives you opportunities to widen your experience and to do other projects that are interesting as well,” Dr Tambasco says.
When deciding what universities to apply for, Dr Tambasco was looking for three things: location, quality and what disciplines are researched there.
“You want someone as a supervisor who you feel confident can shepherd you along the way,” she says. “You don't get anywhere in life without help.”
Dr Tambasco found a good fit with Associate Professor Diana Johns and Professor Stuart Ross at the University of Melbourne School of Social and Political Sciences.
My supervisors were extremely caring, extremely knowledgeable and very generous with their time, their feedback and their guidance. Dr Cristina Tambasco
Reducing the stigma of child-to-parent violence
Dr Tambasco knew she wanted to research family violence.
“Domestic family violence is something that everyone should be concerned about because it is a really significant social problem,” she says.
Child-to-parent violence in particular is poorly understood. It isn’t well recognised by policymakers, services, or even the families experiencing it.
This lack of community awareness creates a delay between problem behaviours emerging and getting help. And what often happens instead is that parents are blamed for their own abuse and shamed for their ‘bad parenting’.
Dr Tambasco wanted to help close these gaps.
“My aim with the research was to understand what the experience is like for those who have to live through it and to understand the different factors that families identify as contributing to the violence,” she says.
“I also wanted to understand how gender factors into it because there's very clear evidence that child-to-parent abuse is a gendered form of family violence.”
A four-year PhD gave Dr Tambasco “the time and space to really unpack all the complexities,” she says. She was also grateful to her study participants, who gifted her their personal and intimate experiences.
“It's so important that your research participants are respected and appreciated, and that their wellbeing is at the forefront of your mind,” Dr Tambasco says.
People tend to view abuse as having a single simple cause, like poor mental health or substance use. Dr Tambasco’s research found that most cases are complex with multiple contributing factors.
A PhD can begin a research career outside academia
During her PhD, Dr Tambasco completed a five-month research internship with the Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, the peak body for child and family services in Victoria.
The experience cemented for Dr Tambasco that research work is available outside academia. Being open to this kind of work helped Dr Tambasco quickly find a job she likes after graduation. She now works in the community sector.
“I work as a research officer for Northern Community Legal Center. It provides a free legal service to people going to the magistrates’ court across Victoria,” Dr Tambasco says.
Dr Tambasco felt she could hit the ground running thanks to her PhD.
“I feel like I have a really in-depth understanding of research design, methodology and all of the stages you need to go through to construct a strong project,” Dr Tambasco says.
As her two projects come to an end, Dr Tamabsco already has her next role lined up. She will be a Senior Researcher at Drummond Street Services’ Centre for Family Research and Evaluation.
“If someone enjoys doing research or is considering a career in research, I recommend they really consider doing a PhD – and consider doing one at the University of Melbourne. The training really is very thorough, and it sets you up quite well to continue doing research.”
First published on 20 March 2024.
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