I am a Professor of Psychology at University of
Turku since 2003. I did both my master’s degree (1992) and PhD (1998) in the
University of Turku. I have been Academy of Finland post-doctoral research
fellow, academy research fellow, and academy senior research fellow, and
visiting professor in the University of Stavanger (2006-2012), Edith Cowan
University (2011-2013) in Perth, Australia, and (currently) in Shandong University
in Jinan, China.  

I have done school-based research on bullying
and its evidence-based prevention for more than 25 years. Together with my team
we developed the KiVa antibullying program (www.kivaprogram.net)
which has been awarded both nationally and internationally, and is widely
implemented in schools in Finland and elsewhere. I have published numerous research
articles, book chapters, and books on the topics of children’s peer relations
and school bullying. My current research interests include different approaches
to tackle bullying and their effectiveness in the short and in the long term,
the sustainability of the implementation of prevention programs, and mediating
mechanisms of program effects.

I have been
involved in teaching mainly related to developmental psychology and research
skills. My main contribution to teaching is, and has been, supervision of graduate
students.