About CFAR

The Children, Families, and Animals Research (CFAR) group focuses on community-engaged research that promotes the health and wellbeing of people who have experienced, or are at risk for experiencing, interpersonal, family, and/or community violence. We are particularly interested in the intersections of human- and animal-directed violence, and the role that family pets may play in the resilience processes of children and youth exposed to adversity.

Our team is dedicated to collaborative research partnerships with community-based organizations that promote participant empowerment and coordinated community and policy responses to addressing the pervasive global public health issue of family violence (including violence toward pets).

The CFAR Group is led by Dr. Shelby E. McDonald in the School of Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Click Here to Learn More About Our Team