LEADING-EDGE RESEARCH TO ADDRESS YOUTH VIOLENCE

January 24, 2011 - VANCOUVER – A new $4.5-million B.C. Leadership Chair at Simon Fraser University (SFU) will develop leading-edge strategies to reduce and prevent violent and aggressive behaviour in children and youth, Children and Family Development Minister Mary Polak announced today.

Dr. Robert McMahon, an internationally renowned clinical child psychologist, has been appointed as the B.C. Leadership Chair in Proactive Approaches to Reducing Risk for Violence Among Children and Youth. This is the first chair of its kind in the province, with a goal of establishing B.C. as a national and international leader in the development of effective intervention strategies to reduce and prevent violent and aggressive behaviour in children and youth.

“We know that vulnerable children and youth need access to a continuum of integrated services, encouraging healthy growth, functioning and pro-social development,” said Polak. “This chair will develop positive solutions for children and youth who struggle with violent and aggressive behaviour issues. The chair’s work will be incredibly beneficial not only to children, youth and their families, but ultimately to our province as a whole.”

The chair will develop preventative and treatment interventions for children and youth with conduct problems, built on evidence-based good practices. Conduct problems include significant levels of disruptive, aggressive or violent behaviour.

“There is a pressing need for more research and preventative programs in these areas,” said Ida Chong, Minister of Science and Universities. “The work of Dr. McMahon and his colleagues will help B.C. play a leading role in developing intervention programs that address violent and aggressive behaviour among young people.”

“As a member of the Vancouver Police Department, I have witnessed first-hand the impact of youth violence and youth crime on society,” said Inspector John de Haas, Vancouver Police Department. “Early intervention is key – the sooner you identify and address the factors of youth violence and aggression the better. We believe this chair will help develop effective strategies and programs to better address youth violence and aggression, which in turn, will help troubled youth avoid a life of crime and violence, and make our communities safer.”

The total chair endowment is $4.5 million, with $2.25 million provided by the Province through its $56.25-million Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF), and matching funds provided by SFU, including a leadership gift from Len and Judy Libin whose son, Joel, was a victim of youth violence. McMahon is the twenty-second LEEF chair to be appointed.

“I am very grateful to SFU and the government of British Columbia for this opportunity,” said McMahon. “The leadership chair will allow me to launch a program of interdisciplinary research to better understand the causes and development of violence and other serious conduct problems in children and adolescents, and, most critically, to develop more effective prevention and treatment strategies.”

“Dr. McMahon’s expertise will serve as a seed to crystallize SFU’s strength in clinical psychology, neurosciences, criminology and health sciences,” said SFU vice-president, research, Mario Pinto. “He will play a leadership role in critical research that informs intervention strategies in the problem of youth violence.”

The chair will also establish a new Institute for the Reduction of Youth Violence, at both SFU and the Child and Family Research Institute. The institute, supported by a $500,000 grant from the Ministry of Children and Family Development, will conduct research on risk and protective factors and developmental pathways of youth violence and other conduct problems, as well as evidence-based preventive and treatment interventions. It will bring together SFU researchers in psychology, criminology and health sciences, researchers in the developmental neurosciences and child health research group at the Child and Family Research Institute and researchers at other B.C. universities.

The Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF) was created by the B.C. government in 2002, to encourage social and economic development in the province. Total investment by the government is $56.25 million to create 29 permanently endowed chairs. Through LEEF, 20 leadership research chairs are being established at B.C.’s four research-intensive universities to further medical, social, environmental and technological research. The fund is also establishing nine regional innovation chairs to create opportunities in communities through B.C.'s colleges, institutes and teaching-focused universities.

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Media Contacts:

Christine Ash
Media Relations Manager
Ministry of Children and Family Development
250 356-1639
250 812-3616 (cell)

Richard Overgaard
Simon Fraser University
Communications
778 782-8985
778 836-9910 (cell)

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