David Finkelhor

David Finkelhor

Professor/Director, Crimes Against Children/Family Research Lab
Director of Crimes against Children Research Center
Phone: (603) 862-2761
Office: Mcconnell Hall, Room 125d, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:
Curriculum Vitae
I am the Director of Crimes against Children Research Center, Co-Director of the Family Research Laboratory, Professor of Sociology, and University Professor, at the University of New Hampshire. I have been studying the problems of child victimization, child maltreatment and family violence since 1977. I am best known for my conceptual and empirical work on the problem of child sexual abuse, reflected in publications such as Sourcebook on Child Sexual Abuse (Sage, 1986) and Nursery Crimes (Sage, 1988). I have also written about child homicide, missing and abducted children, children exposed to domestic and peer violence, commercial sexual exploitation and internet victimization.

I am the co-founder of several large national data collection efforts including the National Survey of Children Exposed to Violence (NatSCEV) and the National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrownaway CHildren (NISMART).

In my recent work, for example, my book, Child Victimization (Oxford University Press, 2008), I have tried to unify and integrate knowledge about all the diverse forms of child victimization in a field I have termed Developmental Victimology. This book received the Daniel Schneider Child Welfare Book of the Year award in 2009. Altogether, I am editor and author of 12 books and over 250 journal articles and book chapters.

I have received grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the US Department of Justice, and a variety of other sources.

Courses Taught

  • SOC 525: Juvenile Crime and Delinquency
  • SOC 773/873: Childhood and Social Policy
  • SOC 792: Internship Independent Study
  • SOC 799H: Senior Honors Thesis

Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology, University of New Hampshire
  • M.Ed., Sociology, Harvard University
  • B.A., Social Sciences, Harvard University

Research Interests

  • Applied Sociology
  • At-Risk Children/Youth
  • Child Abuse/Neglect
  • Child/Youth Health Services
  • Children - Services For
  • Children (Patients)
  • Children/Youth
  • Crime
  • Emotional/Mental Health--Child/Adolescent
  • Family Violence
  • Infant / Child Mortality
  • Internet Safety
  • Psychology/Abused Children
  • Sociology of the Family
  • Victimization/Compensation

Selected Publications

  • Walsh, W. A., Finkelhor, D., & Turner, H. (2025). Characteristics and Dynamics of Cyberstalking Victimization Among Juveniles and Young Adults.. Violence Against Women, 31(5), 1306-1327. doi:10.1177/10778012231225238

  • Higgins, D. J., Lawrence, D., Haslam, D. M., Mathews, B., Malacova, E., Erskine, H. E., . . . Scott, J. G. (2025). Prevalence of Diverse Genders and Sexualities in Australia and Associations With Five Forms of Child Maltreatment and Multi-type Maltreatment.. Child Maltreat, 30(1), 21-41. doi:10.1177/10775595231226331

  • Turner, H. A., Finkelhor, D., & Colburn, D. (2025). Contexts and Characteristics of Imaged-Based Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children: Incident Dynamics in a National Sample.. Child Maltreat, 30(1), 68-81. doi:10.1177/10775595241233970

  • Sutton, S., & Finkelhor, D. (2024). Perpetrators' Identity in Online Crimes Against Children: A Meta-Analysis.. Trauma Violence Abuse, 25(3), 1756-1768. doi:10.1177/15248380231194072

  • Bright, M. A., Huq, M. S., Miller, M. D., Patel, S., Li, Z., & Finkelhor, D. (2024). Randomized Control Trial of a School-Based Curriculum that Teaches About Multiple Forms of Abuse.. Child Maltreat, 29(2), 364-374. doi:10.1177/10775595231152623

  • Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Finkelhor, D., Moore, D. W., & Runyan, D. (1998). Identification of child maltreatment with the parent-child Conflict Tactics Scales: Development and psychometric data for a national sample of American parents. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT, 22(4), 249-270. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(97)00174-9

  • KENDALLTACKETT, K. A., WILLIAMS, L. M., & FINKELHOR, D. (1993). IMPACT OF SEXUAL ABUSE ON CHILDREN - A REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS OF RECENT EMPIRICAL-STUDIES. PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 113(1), 164-180. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.113.1.164

  • FINKELHOR, D., HOTALING, G., LEWIS, I. A., & SMITH, C. (1990). SEXUAL ABUSE IN A NATIONAL SURVEY OF ADULT MEN AND WOMEN - PREVALENCE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND RISK-FACTORS. CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT, 14(1), 19-28. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(90)90077-7

  • BROWNE, A., & FINKELHOR, D. (1986). IMPACT OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE - A REVIEW OF THE RESEARCH. PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 99(1), 66-77. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.99.1.66

  • FINKELHOR, D., & BROWNE, A. (1985). THE TRAUMATIC IMPACT OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE - A CONCEPTUALIZATION. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, 55(4), 530-541. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1985.tb02703.x

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  • Most Cited Publications