Dr. David Finkelhor stands as a preeminent scholar in the field of child victimization research and a leading authority on family violence and child abuse. He currently serves as Professor of Sociology and University Professor at the University of New Hampshire, where he also directs the Crimes against Children Research Center and co-directs the Family Research Laboratory. Having earned his PhD in Sociology from the University of New Hampshire in 1978 following undergraduate studies at Harvard College, Dr. Finkelhor has dedicated his career to understanding and addressing the complex issues surrounding child victimization. His leadership extends to co-founding two major national data collection initiatives: the National Survey of Children Exposed to Violence and the National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway Children.
Dr. Finkelhor's seminal contribution to the field came with his 2008 book Child Victimization, which unified and integrated knowledge about diverse forms of child victimization through his conceptual framework of Developmental Victimology. This groundbreaking work earned him the prestigious Daniel Schneider Child Welfare Book of the Year Award in 2009 and established him as the field's foremost synthesizer of research on childhood exposure to violence. With over 250 journal articles and book chapters to his name, his research has profoundly shaped understanding of child maltreatment trends, family violence, and internet-related child victimization. His methodological innovations in measuring children's exposure to violence have provided the foundation for national policy discussions and interventions aimed at protecting vulnerable youth.
Beyond his scholarly contributions, Dr. Finkelhor has secured significant research funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the US Department of Justice, demonstrating the practical relevance of his work to national priorities. He continues to lead cutting-edge research, as evidenced by his 2024 publication on updated trends in child maltreatment, which provides critical data for policymakers and practitioners. His ongoing work examining the intersection of sibling victimization and parental child maltreatment represents the next frontier in understanding the complex dynamics of family violence. As both a rigorous systematizer of knowledge and an influential voice in child protection policy, Dr. Finkelhor remains at the forefront of efforts to create safer environments for children in the United States and beyond.
