René Veenstra (1969), Ph.D., is Professor, Department of Sociology and Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS), University of Groningen, the Netherlands, Visiting Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Turku, Finland, and member of the management team of TRAILS. During the period 2011-2014, he coordinates the implementation and evaluation of the KiVa Antibullying Program in the Netherlands. He published on a variety of topics (bullying and victimization, peer relations, prosocial and antisocial behavior, social network analysis, temperament-by-environment interactions) in major scientific journals including Child Development, Developmental Psychology, International Journal of Behavioral Development, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Journal of Early Adolescence, and Journal of Research on Adolescence. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Research on Adolescence for the period 2010-2016.

He teaches criminology, policy and interventions, and supervises a project called criminality and security (with Intraval). In the past he has lectured in statistics and methodology and worked as an educational researcher for the OECD. In 1999 he completed his Ph.D. dissertation about achievement and progress of pupils in secondary education (see the summary). In 1994 he received a Master’s in Educational Science and in Educational Theory (cum laude).

The QANU Research Review 2008 evaluated the research program of Sociology, University of Groningen as very good (productivity, viability) and even excellent (quality, relevance).


[Prevention Action: I know, I can, I do: Reducing bullying in Finland, April 2011]
[RUG Opinion: Stop the proliferation of anti-bullying programmes, January 2011]
[Prevention Action: On the TRAIL of the Value of a Good Education, August 2010]
[New York Times: Maybe Bullies Just Want to Be Loved, May 2010]
[Live Science: Behind Bullying: Why Kids Are So Cruel, April 2010]
[e! Science News: Pursuit of Status and Affection Drives Bullies' Behavior, March 2010]
[WebMD: What Motivates Kids Who Are Bullies?, March 2010]
[Telegraph: Bullies Are Looking for Affection, March 2010]
[Live Science: Bullies Pick on Unpopular Kids, March 2010]

[Åbo Underrättelser (in Swedish): Flickor och pojkar får olika vård, August 2010]
[MagisNet (in Spanish): Estrategias de un matón: acosar sin perder los afectos en clase, June 2010]