Tina Malti is a Canadian-German child psychologist of Palestinian descent. She is a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and founding director of th
Laboratory for Social-Emotional Development and Intervention
as well as founding director of th
Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy
at the University of Toronto. Tina is the current president of the

International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development The International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD) is an international, multidisciplinary learned society dedicated to research on human development. It was established on May 31, 1969, at the University of Bonn in Bonn, W ...

(ISSBD). She is known for her research on the affective bases of

aggression Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...

and prosocial behavior in children, as well as the development and testing of socio-emotional interventions for enhancing

kindness Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistant or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. Kindness is a topic of interest in philosophy, religion, and psychology. Kin ...

and mental health and reducing the negative effects of exposure to violence and trauma in children facing varying levels of adversity.

Education

Tina Malti earned a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Free University of Berlin, under the supervision o
Wolfgang Edelstein
. She also obtained a postgraduate M.A. in clinical child psychology from the Academy of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Children and Adolescents in Switzerland and a Habilitation in psychology from Free University of Berlin.

Research

Research expertise

Tina’s research focuses on social-emotional development and mental health in children experiencing varying levels of adversity. Based on this work and a humanistic approach to child development, she creates and tests interventions that help children cultivate

and overcome the negative effects of exposure to violence, war, and trauma. To achieve these goals, Tina conducts and directs multidisciplinary research, training, and policy efforts that capitalize on inclusive principles and technological innovations to reach every child. Tina is a co-editor of the ''Handbook of Child and Adolescent Aggression'' and the ''Cambridge Handbook of Prosociality''. Her research has been profiled in ''The New York Times, The Atlantic,'' as well as other media outlets. She and her team work closely with local and international communities and agencies to provide research-informed knowledge that can help nurture the development, wellbeing, and potential for kindness in children from all walks of life. Her work has been funded by all three federal funding agencies in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as international foundations and funding agencies. Her multi-cultural team has published over 200 publications in the areas of child development, mental health, and intervention research.

Leadership

In 2019, Tina created and established the Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy at the University of Toronto Mississauga, and she became its founding director. The vision of this multi-disciplinary research centre is to foster every child’s healthy development and potential for kindness, both locally and globally. She has been named recipient of Germany’s most valuable research award, the

Alexander von Humboldt Professorship The Alexander von Humboldt Professorship is an academic prize named after Alexander von Humboldt and awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation since 2008. The prize is intended to attract internationally leading scientists from abroad to Ger ...

Honors

* Alexander von Humboldt Professorship, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2023 * Desmond Morton Research Excellence Award, University of Toronto Mississauga, 2019 * Fellow, American Psychological Association (Division 53, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology), 2019–present * Fellow, American Psychological Association (Division 7, Developmental Psychology), 2015–present * Fellow, Association for Psychological Science, 2015–present * Dean’s Excellence Award, University of Toronto Mississauga, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 * Early Researcher Award, Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, 2012-2017 * New Investigator Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2012-2017 * Connaught Award for New Researchers, University of Toronto, 2011 * Young Investigator Award, Society for Research on Adolescence, 2010 * Fellowship Award for Advanced Research Scientists, Swiss National Science Foundation, 2007-2010 * New Investigator Award, International Society for Research on Aggression, 2004

Publications

Colasante, T., Jambon, M., Gao, X., & Malti, T. (2020). A process model linking physiological arousal and fear recognition to aggression via guilt in middle childhood. ''Development and Psychopathology.'' Early online publication, February 27, 2020. Dys, S.P., Peplak, J., Colasante, T., & Malti, T. (2019). Children’s sympathy and sensitivity to excluding economically disadvantaged peers. ''Developmental Psychology'', ''55''(3), 482–487. Malti, T. (2020). ''Children and violence'': Nurturing social-emotional development to promote mental health. Social Policy Report (SPR), Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), 33(2), 1-27. Malti, T. (2020). Kindness: A perspective from developmental psychology. ''European Journal of Developmental Psychology.'' Early online publication, October 12, 2020. Malti, T. (2016). Toward an integrated clinical-developmental model of guilt. ''Developmental Review, 39,'' 16–36''.'' Malti, T., & Averdijk, M. (2017). Severe youth violence: Developmental perspectives. Introduction to the special section. ''Child Development, 88,'' 5–15. Malti, T., Chaparro, M. P., Zuffianò, A., & Colasante, T. (2016). School-based interventions to promote empathy-related responding in children and adolescents: A developmental analysis. ''Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 45''(6), 718–731. Malti, T., & Cheah, C.S.L. (Eds.) (forthcoming, 2021). Specificity and commonality: Sociocultural generalizability in social-emotional development. Special section. ''Child Development.'' Malti, T., & Rubin, K. H. (Eds.) (2018). ''Handbook of child and adolescent aggression''. New York: Guilford Press. Zuffianò, A., Colasante, T., Buchmann, M., & Malti, T. (2018). The co-development of sympathy and overt aggression from childhood to early adolescence. ''Developmental Psychology, 54''(1), 98-110.

References

External links

Tina Malti’s Laboratory for Social-Emotional Development and Intervention
at the University of Toronto
Centre for Child Development, Mental Health, and Policy
at the University of Toronto Mississauga
Tina Malti's Google Scholar page
with the full list of her publications {{DEFAULTSORT:Malti, Tina Academic staff of the University of Toronto Canadian psychologists Developmental psychologists Clinical psychologists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)