Maria Ansbro

Dr. Maria Ansbro is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the School of Health and Social Care Professions, Buckinghamshire New University. She holds a PhD from Queen's University Belfast (2017) and is a registered social worker with Social Work England. Her expertise spans criminal justice, probation practice, and child protection, with a focus on attachment theory applications in supervision and risk assessment. She chairs the Social Work Research Ethics Sub-Committee and leads university modules on psychology and research methods.

Her research investigates multi-agency child protection dynamics, sex offender registration efficacy, and the integration of attachment theory into probation supervision. Current projects include evaluating the UK Sex Offender Register and analyzing life histories of children in custody. She actively presents at international criminology conferences and supervises multiple PhD students.

Key contributions include a 2022 book on attachment theory in probation and a 2018 qualitative study on attachment-based interventions. Her work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical applications, emphasizing desistance models and systemic accountability in criminal justice systems.