In Memoriam: Professor Peter K. Smith (1943–2025)

We mourn the loss of Peter Smith, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Professor Smith’s research focused on children’s social development, particularly bullying and violence in children from an international perspective, as well as strategies for prevention and intervention in school settings. He also examined the role of play in children’s social development.

He received several distinctions for his outstanding contributions to developmental psychology, including the William Thierry Preyer award for Excellence in Research on Human Development in 2015, by the European Society for Developmental Psychology. He was also awarded Fellow status by the British Psychological Society, the Association of Psychological Sciences, and the Academy of Social Sciences.

Professor Smith was a long-time member of the ISSBD and served as chair of the ISSBD Developing Country Fellowship (DCF) Program since 2009. In this role, Peter helped support numerous early-career scholars from the majority world in their professional development. In 2020, he received the honourable status of ISSBD Fellow in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of child social development.

We bid farewell to a renowned developmentalist, beloved colleague, and caring person whose positive energy and kind-minded spirit inspired us all. On behalf of the entire ISSBD community, we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Peter, we will dearly miss you.

Tina Malti

ISSBD President