Debra Pepler is a Canadian psychologist known for her research and advocacy within the field of childhood aggression and bullying. She is currently a distinguished research professor at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Career

Pepler completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Queen's University in 1973, followed by a Master of Science degree at Dalhousie University in 1976. In 1979, she was awarded her PhD from the University of Waterloo. She has been a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at York University since 1988 and a senior associate scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto since 2001. Pepler is a nationally recognized expert in the field of childhood aggression, including bullying. She has co-edited 12 books and published over 200 refereed journal articles, book chapters, and white papers. In one major project, Pepler and colleagues recorded and analyzed video footage of children's interactions on the playground and in the classroom, observing their bullying experiences, targets' coping styles, and peers' responses. In 1997, she appeared on an episode of

the Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

to discuss her work on bullying. In 2006, Pepler co-founded (with

Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''Not in Front of the Children'', '' ...And Mother Makes Three'', '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' and ''Butterflies''. ...

, her first PhD student) Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence Network
PREVNet
, a collaboration between researchers and community organizations dedicated to preventing childhood bullying and violence. In 2015, Pepler was awarded the Donald O. Hebb Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology as a Science, by the

Canadian Psychological Association The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) is the primary organization representing psychologists throughout Canada. It was organized in 1939 and incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act, Part II, in May 1950. Its objectives are to imp ...

. In 2019, she was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepler, Debra Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Academic staff of York University Canadian psychologists University of Waterloo alumni Dalhousie University alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian women psychologists