Ashley Stewart-Tufescu

Dr. Ashley Stewart-Tufescu is an Assistant Professor and Registered Social Worker in the Faculty of Social Work. Prior to joining the Faculty in 2021, she was a post-doctoral fellow in the Departments of Community Health Sciences and Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba’s Bannatyne Campus.

While completing her doctoral studies, Dr. Stewart-Tufescu was a faculty member in the Early Childhood Education program in the Faculty of Health Sciences and Community Services at Red River College.  During her graduate and post-graduate training she received a number of provincial and national research awards and fellowships including a joint Research Manitoba and Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) Post-Doctoral Health Research Fellowship, and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship. Dr. Stewart-Tufescu’s fellowship training focused on psychiatric epidemiology and childhood adversity by linking survey data to administrative health, education and justice databases. Her doctoral research examined the transportability and efficacy of a violence prevention parenting program in highly diverse country contexts characterized by conflict, trauma, environmental disaster, and resource insecurity. Both of these areas of study are on-going and inform her research endeavours.

Currently, Dr. Stewart-Tufescu’s program of research spans 19 different countries throughout Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, and South East Asia including many under resourced regions.  She is a co-investigator and collaborator on numerous research projects supported by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. As a Registered Social Worker (#3946), Dr. Stewart-Tufescu has direct practice experience in the fields of child welfare and mental health. She continues to work with local community-based organizations to support caregivers in the prevention of child maltreatment and family violence from a trauma-informed approach.

• Doctor of Philosophy (Applied Health Sciences) - University of Manitoba, 2018
• Master of Science (Family Social Sciences) - University of Manitoba, 2010
• Certificate in Infant Mental Health - York University, 2007
• Bachelor of Social Work - University of Regina, 2006
• Bachelor of Arts (honours in Anthropology & Archaeology) -  University of Saskatchewan, 2005

• Scientist, Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM), University of Manitoba
• Research Affiliate, Centre for Human Rights Research, University of Manitoba
• Faculty Advisor, Master of Human Rights program, Faculty of Law, University of Manitoba

Dr. Stewart-Tufescu’s research program is multidisciplinary, international in scope and practice, and is founded on universal human rights principles. Her work aims to (1) prevent violence against children by implementing evidence-based parenting interventions designed to promote healthy child and adolescent development, enhance family relationships, and support community well-being; and (2) address the historical and contemporary social injustices, systemic barriers, and policy and legislation that normalize and perpetuate childhood adversity and the associated intergenerational transmission of trauma. Her research interests include:

• Child maltreatment, peer victimization and children’s health and well-being
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
• Physical and other emotional forms of punishment
• Parenting and discipline
• Children’s rights (provision, protection and participation rights)
• Trauma-informed research methods
• Global child protection and child welfare practices
• Child developmental health and resilience
• Children’s subjective well-being
• Psychiatric epidemiology
• Program evaluation and community-based interventions
• Social Determinants of Health (early childhood education)

Dr. Stewart-Tufescu teaches in the undergraduate and graduate programs. Example courses include SWRK 2090: Human Behaviour, SWRK 3100: Systematic Inquiry and SWRK 7460: Application and Critique of Theory and Research in Social Work Practice.

If you are interested in working with Dr. Stewart-Tufescu, please contact her early in your planning to discuss your goals and research interests.

Selected Publications:

Struck, S., Stewart-Tufescu, A., Asmundson, A. J., Asmundson, G. G., & Afifi, T. O. (2021). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) research: a bibliometric analysis of publication trends over the first 20 years. Child Abuse & Neglect, 112, 104895.

Afifi, T. O., Sareen, J., Taillieu, T., Stewart-Tufescu, A., Mota, N., Bolton, S. L., ... & Jetly, R. (2021). Association of Child Maltreatment and Deployment-related Traumatic Experiences with Mental Disorders in Active Duty Service Members and Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces: Association de la Maltraitance des Enfants et des Expériences Traumatisantes Liées au Déploiement Avec les Troubles Mentaux Chez les Membres du Service Actif et Les Anciens Combattants des Forces Armées Canadiennes. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 0706743720987086.

Fortier, J., Stewart-Tufescu, A., Salmon, S., Davila, I. G., MacMillan, H. L., Gonzalez, A., ... & Afifi, T. O. (2020). What type of survey research questions are identified by adults as upsetting? A focus on child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 109, 104764.

Durrant, J. E., Stewart-Tufescu, A., Ateah, C., Holden, G. W., Ahmed, R., Jones, A., ... & Mori, I. (2020). Addressing punitive violence against children in Australia, Japan and the Philippines. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 14.

Koshyk, J., Wilson, T., Stewart-Tufescu, A., D’Souza, M., Chase, R. M., & Mignone, J. (2020). The ripple effect: Examining the impact on parents of an Abecedarian early child care intervention in an urban social housing development. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 1476718X20966696.

Afifi, T. O., Taillieu, T., Salmon, S., Davila, I. G., Stewart-Tufescu, A., Fortier, J., ... & MacMillan, H. L. (2020). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), peer victimization, and substance use among adolescents. Child abuse & neglect, 106, 104504.

Stewart-Tufescu, A., Salmon, S., Taillieu, T., Fortier, J., & Afifi, T. O. (2019). Victimization experiences and mental health outcomes among grades 7 to 12 students in Manitoba, Canada. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, 1-12.

Stewart-Tufescu, A., Huynh, E., Chase, R., & Mignone, J. (2019). The Life Story Board: A task-oriented research tool to explore children’s perspectives of well-being. Child Indicators Research, 12(2), 525-543.

Durrant, J. E., Stewart-Tufescu, A., & Afifi, T. O. (2019). Recognizing the child’s right to protection from physical violence: An update on progress and a call to action. Child abuse & neglect, 104297.

Huynh, E., & Stewart-Tufescu, A. (2019).  Exploring the Everyday Lives of Children in Winnipeg, Canada:  A qualitative investigation of children’s understanding of wellbeing.  International Journal of Children’s Rights, 27(3), doi: 10.1163/15718182-02703005

In the academy, Dr. Stewart-Tufescu supports the work of the Faculty of Social Work’s BSW Curriculum Review Committee. She also acts as an Academic Representative for RESOLVE by serving on three committees: the Manitoba Steering Committee, the Regional Council (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta), and the Partnership Board.

At the University of Manitoba, she is also a member of the Manitoba Population Mental Health Research Group, the Military Mental Health Research Group, the Traumatic Stress Research Lab in the Department of Psychiatry, and the Childhood Adversity and Resilience (CARe) Research Team, and Program and Policy Evaluation Research (PROPER) Group. 

At the national and international level, Dr. Stewart-Tufescu is a member in good-standing of the Canadian Academy of Psychiatric Epidemiology (CAPE), the Children’s Rights Academic Network (CRAN), the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), and the Multinational Children’s Understanding of Well-being Research Group and the Children’s Worlds: International Survey of Children’s Subjective Well-Being International Research Team.

In the Winnipeg community, Dr. Stewart-Tufescu is a Director of the Mosaic Newcomer Family Resource Network’s Board, a member of Balmoral Hall School’s Board of Governors Strategic Planning Committee, and a founding member of Positive Discipline in Everyday Life.