Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons^™

Correctional Officer Suicide: A Theory-Driven Investigation Of Acquired Capability And Suicide Behavior, Abigail R. Andersen

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A growing body of research suggests that correctional officers (COs) die by suicide at a significantly higher rate compared to the general population and some other public safety personnel. Despite what is known about this phenomenon, an understanding of the risk factors driving the high rate of suicide among this population remains unclear. Specifically, little attention has been paid to specific risk factors for suicide among this population and there is an overall absence of theory-driven research investigating CO suicide. The present study sought to address the gap in this area of research by investigating potential risk factors for suicide …

Meeting Survivors Where They Are: Gbv Service Fit And Mismatch In Rural Communities, Ziwei Qi, Rachel Dolechek, Naishuo Sun

Social Work Faculty Publications

Gender-based violence (GBV) poses ongoing challenges in rural communities, where structural and cultural barriers often hinder effective support. This qualitative study analyzed six listening sessions and two survivor panels with over 50 participants in a Midwestern state. Using trauma-informed care and cultural humility frameworks, we conducted reflexive thematic analysis to explore service alignment with local values and survivor needs. Two themes emerged: service fits, marked by adaptive, trust-based practices; and service mismatches, involving rigid systems and cultural isolation. Findings highlight the need for survivor-led, flexible, and culturally grounded responses to enhance rural GBV service delivery and promote long-term well-being.

Pics 101: Understanding Post-Incarceration Syndrome, Nicole L. Wiesen

Forensic Scholars Today

The psychological consequences of incarceration have been documented for decades, yet there remains no widely accepted trauma-informed framework specifically designed to conceptualize the cumulative effects of incarceration on individuals returning to their communities. Post-Incarceration Syndrome (PICS) is an emerging conceptual framework that seeks to integrate biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors associated with incarceration-related trauma and community reintegration. Building upon foundational research in prisonization, institutionalization, trauma, and correctional psychology—particularly the work of Craig Haney and other scholars examining the lasting effects of incarceration—the PICS framework provides clinicians, researchers, educators, and correctional professionals with a biopsychosocial lens through which to understand …

Juvenile Delinquency In Alaska, 2019 And 2023, Gabriel Garcia

AJiC Fact Sheets

This fact sheet examines juvenile delinquency in Alaska, documenting changes in substance use and weapon-carrying among high school students and identifying associated risk and protective factors using weighted data from the 2019 and 2023 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).

Individual And Community-Level Trauma And Resiliency From Tornadoes, Taylor M. Guerin

Master of Arts in Human Services

This research paper’s goal was to examine the extent and impact of tornado-related PTSD on individual and community levels in relation to factors such as property damage, mass displacement, cumulative trauma, and seasonal retraumatization. The United States has the most tornado touchdowns globally, placing communities in supercell-prone areas, including Tornado Alley, at higher risk of repeated storm trauma that can affect emotional well-being, sense of safety, and overall financial security (Strader et al., 2024). This researcher utilized a comprehensive literature review approach to examine rates of PTSD, the long-term effects of tornado recovery, the risk of community-level trauma, and to …

Election Fraud In The Mountain West, 1998-2025, Ty Tan, Lara Karaalp, Anirudh Polagani, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet presents data from the Heritage Foundation's Election Fraud Map  to compile cases of election fraud from 1998 to 2025 across the five Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The fact sheet presents the number of election fraud cases and types of election fraud charges in each Mountain West state.

Student Perceptions Of Artificial Intelligence-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material: A Qualitative Content Analysis, Paige Horton, Amanda Isabel Osuna

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI and deepfake technology, has introduced new challenges in the production and dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). While existing research has examined the technological and legal implications of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, less is known about how the public, especially young adults who are most likely to use AI technologies, perceive these developments. The present study addresses this gap by examining undergraduate student perceptions of AI-generated child sexual abuse material at a medium-sized private university in the Southeastern United States. Using data from a Qualtrics survey, this study …

Patterns Of Violence: Gendered Variations In Reported Abuse In Ex Parte Civil Protection Order Cases, Aimee Yearwood

Undergraduate Research Symposium

A comparative analysis was conducted to assess differences in the types of abuse reported by male and female petitioners in ex parte civil protection order cases. From a dataset of 487 CPO cases filed in 2022 in Minnesota, a sample of 200 cases was utilized, including 100 from male petitioners and 100 from female petitioners. Results indicate that female petitioners report higher levels of psychological/emotional and sexual abuse along with harassment than male petitioners. Also, female petitioners reported slightly higher levels of verbal abuse. There were few notable differences in the reporting of physical abuse, property damage, child abuse/neglect, and …

The Cross-Section Of Empirical Evidence And Personal Experience: A Deeper Look At School Resource Officers Through The Lens Of Demarcus A. Jenkins' Research On The Public Opinion Of Their Potential Removal From Public Schools, Quin Armstrong

University Honors Theses

Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter and Anti-Police movements, there were many discussions across the nation about possible changes to law enforcement operations. Among these discussions included specific discussions about what to do about law enforcement officers stationed in schools. These law enforcement officers are known as school resource officers, or SROs.

The focus of this thesis is specifically on Portland, Oregon's Portland Public School (PPS) district's decision to sever ties with the Portland Police Bureau, and what may have contributed to that ultimate decision. This is accomplished through an analysis of a research paper written by fellow Criminal Justice …

Is Prenatal Contraceptive Counseling Enough? Intimate Partner Violence Timing And Postpartum Contraception In Hispanic Women, Lucas E. Espinoza, Luis Enrique Espinoza, Paris G. Rangel, Jennifer L. Talleff, Amiee Griffis

Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Purpose: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern that can impact women’s reproductive decisions, but how IPV timing and prenatal contraceptive counseling are associated with postpartum contraceptive use in Hispanic women is poorly understood. This study examines the association between IPV timing, prenatal contraceptive counseling, and postpartum contraceptive use among Hispanic women.

Methods: Data were drawn from the 2019–2020 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and included 11,721 Hispanic women who had recently given birth. IPV was classified based on timing as none, preconception, prenatal, or both. Multivariable logistic regression models were estimated with analyses moderated and stratified …

The Role Of Temperament In Criminal Trajectories: Development, Stability, And Predictive Power Across The Life Course, Joshua A. Lang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Temperament, an individual's largely innate tendency to experience and regulate responses to their environment, has long been studied but was only recently introduced as a primary predictor of criminal behavior (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2014). While prior criminological theories have incorporated temperament-related constructs, such as negative affect (Agnew, 1992; Moffitt, 1993) and self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), no other theory has explicitly positioned temperament as the central factor in offending. DeLisi and Vaughn’s temperament-based theory of antisocial behavior posits that individuals with low effortful control and high negative emotionality—features of a difficult temperament—are more likely to engage in criminal behavior. Despite …

Community-Based Research: Key Considerations For Researchers And Community Partners When Collaborating, Bothwell Piason, Kathleen A. Fox

The Qualitative Report

Community-based research (CBR) is a research orientation that emphasizes equitable engagement in the process of knowledge production, though researchers and community partners may navigate collaborative partnerships with differing expectations, priorities, and understandings of success. Extant research has demonstrated that successful CBR partnerships can benefit both researchers and community partners, yet little is known about how both groups simultaneously conceptualize successful collaboration across diverse partnership contexts. In this study, we ask: What considerations do researchers and community partners identify as important when engaging in community-based research partnerships? Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 10 university researchers and 10 community partners engaged in …

Breaking The Cycle: From Victimization To Offending Through The Lens Of Human Services, Colette R. Penalosa

Master of Arts in Human Services

The victim-offender overlap challenges the common view that victims and offenders are separately labeled by recognizing that both groups have experienced significant childhood trauma, physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, neglect, and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Current research implies these experiences can increase the risk of offending as they all influence cognitive and behavioral development while leaving criminal behavior undetermined. The purpose of this capstone is to analyze the relationship between childhood victimization and offending from a human service perspective; analyzing the pathways a victim takes on the road to offending. Research conducted will focus on exploring the victim-offender overlap, …

When Childcare Becomes A Crime Space In Contemporary Indonesia, Isyana Kurniasari Konoras, Dr. Dra. Vinita Susanti, M.Si

Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

Abstract. The increasing incidence of violence against children in daycare institutions reflects a structural crisis in contemporary child protection systems. This study examines the violence case at Little Aresha Daycare in Yogyakarta to identify the criminogenic factors underlying abuse in institutional childcare settings. The research applies a normative-empirical qualitative method through media-based case studies, legal analysis, and criminological interpretation. The findings demonstrate that violence emerged from the convergence of three major factors: structural strain experienced by caregivers, weak capable guardianship within daycare institutions, and the normalization of abusive disciplinary practices. Robert K. Merton’s Strain Theory explains how economic and occupational …

Beyond Extremism: Rethinking Anarchism In Contemporary Indonesian Security Discourse Through Anarchist Criminology, I Gusti Ngurah Aditia Tjandra Asmara

Jurnal Kriminologi Indonesia

This article examines how contemporary Indonesian security discourse increasingly frames anarchism through the categories of radicalism, extremism, and national security threats. Responding to the emergence of academic and security-oriented narratives that position anarchism as a form of anti-state extremism, this article asks how anarchism is represented and securitized within contemporary Indonesian criminological and security discourse. Using a qualitative critical-discourse analysis approach, this article draws upon perspectives from Anarchist Criminology and Cultural Criminology to examine the construction of anarchism within contemporary Indonesian security narratives. The findings demonstrate that anarchism is frequently reduced into a simplified and homogeneous category of extremism through …

Understanding Familicide: Psychosocial, Behavioral, And Mental Health Risk Factors And Implications For Forensic Behavioral Health Professionals, Molly M. Vogl

Master of Arts in Human Services

Familicide is a rare but devastating form of family violence involving the killing of multiple family members by another family member. Although research examining domestic violence, homicide, and homicide-suicide has expanded, familicide remains less understood due to its low occurrence and complex nature. This capstone examined the psychosocial, behavioral, and mental health risk factors commonly associated with familicide perpetrators and explored how forensic behavioral health professionals may use this information to improve violence risk assessment, prevention, and intervention efforts. A review of peer-reviewed research from academic databases and scholarly search engines identified common themes associated with familicide, including relationship conflict, …

A Brief Self-Help Intervention For Anxiety And Depressive Symptoms Utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy And Dialectical Behavior Therapy Within Correctional Settings, Genevieve L. Ray

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

Individuals within incarcerated settings are far more likely to experience symptoms that meet criteria for a mental health disorder compared to the general population. This population is often underserved due to various financial and resource constraints. Self-help interventions have grown in popularity due to their proven effectiveness and accessibility for consumers, particularly for anxiety and depression symptoms. A self-help intervention for those in a correctional setting would not require extensive additional personnel amid financial constraints and would increase access to care. Many self-help interventions that are currently published apply to the community population, but readily accessible resources that reside in …

Promoting Developmentally Informed Justice: A Developmental Assessment Referral Framework For Juvenile Transfer Decisions, Carly F. Colman

Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects

The transfer of youth between juvenile courts and adult courts is one of the most consequential decisions made in the American legal system, as it will influence the youth’s legal outcomes, developmental trajectories, and long-term well-being. Advances in adolescent brain science show that there are many factors associated with youthful offending, including developmental immaturity, susceptibility to external influences, and ongoing neurobiological development—all of which are related to age, rather than being fixed criminal traits. Despite this growing body of evidence, legal decision-making in juvenile transfer and sentencing does not consistently incorporate individualized developmental data. This paper examines the important role …

Emotional Intelligence Deficits And Behavioral Escalation Among Justice-Involved Populations, Aleasa M. Word

Master of Arts in Human Services

This capstone examined the relationship between deficits in emotional intelligence and behavioral escalation among justice-involved populations, who frequently demonstrated challenges with emotional regulation, impulse control, aggression, and behavioral escalation. However, many correctional interventions, including traditional anger management programming, emphasized behavioral compliance rather than the underlying emotional processing deficiencies that contributed to these behaviors. This project synthesized existing peer-reviewed literature from psychology, criminology, forensic behavioral health, and correctional rehabilitation research to examine how low levels of emotional awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and interpersonal functioning are associated with aggression, recidivism, and escalating behaviors. Findings suggested deficits in emotional intelligence were consistently associated …

A Phenomenological Study Of The Experiences Of Black Students In Criminal Justice Programs And Its Implications On Social Justice, Demetrius C. Dacres

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the experiences of Black students who graduated with degrees in criminal justice within the last five years, as well as professors serving criminal justice programs. In this study, Black students are defined as those who identify as Black or African American, and the research focused on a criminal justice higher education institution’s educational program in the Northeast. This qualitative phenomenological study drew on Lent’s Social Cognitive Career Theory and Tinto’s Student Integration Model to investigate how Black students experienced criminal justice programs and the resources and strategies they utilized to navigate and adapt. The study addressed a …