Child Abuse Prevention: Past, Present, and Future

Dr. David Wolfe

University of Toronto

Dr. David Wolfe is a psychologist and author specializing in issues affecting children and youth. He holds the inaugural RBC Chair in Children’s Mental Health at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), where he is Head of the CAMH Centre for Prevention Science located in London. He is a Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Toronto, and Editor-in-Chief of Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal. Dr. Wolfe has broad research and clinical interests in abnormal child and adolescent psychology, with a special focus on child abuse, domestic violence, and developmental psychopathology. He is internationally known for his work on child abuse and violence prevention, especially regarding the impact of early childhood trauma on later development in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Dr. Wolfe has been pioneering new approaches to preventing many societal youth problems such as bullying, relationship violence, and substance abuse. His research team developed and evaluated the school-based Fourth R program to promote healthy relationships and reduce violence and abuse among youth, which is widely used across North America.