Focus Area
Youth Violence
Youth violence can disrupt education, health, and social development, while also contributing to cycles of trauma that extend into adulthood. Research in this area explores the risk and protective factors that influence youth engagement in violence, while identifying strategies to prevent harm and promote resilience. Faculty and projects partner with schools, families, and communities to implement evidence-based interventions, foster leadership, and empower young people to thrive in safe, supportive environments.
Researchers
Courtney N. Baker, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Science & Engineering
Specialty Areas: Trauma-Informed Care, Youth Violence, School Settings
Xiaojin Chen, PhD
Professor, School of Liberal Arts
Specialty Areas: Developmental Criminology, Delinquency & Victimization Among Disadvantaged Children
Julia Fleckman, PhD
Adjunct Professor
Specialty Areas: Structural and Social Determinants of Firearm Violence, Evaluation of Firearm Violence Prevention Strategies, Community-Partnered Research, Evaluation of IPV and Gender-based Violence Interventions, Restorative Approaches
Samantha Francois, PhD
Adjunct Professor
Specialty Areas: Adolescent Development, Structural Violence, Anti-racist Research
Lolita Moss, PhD
Assistant Professor, School of Public Health
Speciality Areas: Intimate Partner Violence, Media socialization, Adolescent development, Intervention, & African American youth
Manuel (Manny) Ocasio, PhD
Co-Director, Violence Prevention Institute Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine
Specialty Areas: Community Engagement, Interventions, Health Equity, Social Media Approaches
Catherine O'Connor, PhD, LMSW
Associate Professor, School of Social Work
Specialty Areas: Indigenous Women And Children, Resilience, Health Disparities
Stacy Overstreet, PhD
Professor, School of Science & Engineering
Specialty Areas: Family Violence, School-Based Intervention, Trauma-Informed Care
Reginald Parquet, PhD, LCSW-BACS
Associate Dean for Faculty, Staff and Student Engagement and Opportunity, Clinical Associate Professor
Specialty Areas: Juvenile Legal System, Motivational Interviewing, Strengths building, Historical Oppression & Marginalization, Community Mental Health, Trauma
Katherine (Kat) Theall
Co-Director, Violence Prevention Institute Cecile Usdin Professorship in Women’s Health
Specialty Areas: Health Equity, Built & Social Environment, Maternal Health, Social Epidemiology
Projects
Center for Youth Equity
Enrichment 2 Empowerment
Supportive Hospital-based Intervention for Firearm Trauma
Healthy Neighborhoods
Publications
Arora, P. G., Parr, K., Staubi, K., Soo Ping Chow, A., Coriano, V., & Baker, C. N. (2025). Development of the Cultural Adaptations Content Checklist: Measuring cultural adaptations to evidence-based psychological interventions for racial and ethnic minoritized youth. School Psychology, 40(2), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000651
Bock, J. E., Brown, R. P., Johns, N. E., Closson, K., Cunningham, M., Foster, S., & Raj, A. (2025). Is Honor Culture Linked With Depression?: Examining the Replicability and Robustness of a Disputed Association at the State and Individual Levels. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 56(5). https://doi.org/10.1177/00220221251348586
Chen, X., Wu, Y., & Qu, J. (2022). Parental migration and children’s exposure to polyvictimization in rural China. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(19–20), NP17429–NP17453. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211028015
Chen, X., Wu, Y., & Qu, J. (2022). Parental migration and risk of sexual assault against children in rural China. Crime & Delinquency, 68(4), 613–643. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128721989072
Fleckman, J. M., Petrovic, L., Simon, K., et al. (2022). Compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout: A mixed methods analysis in a sample of public-school educators working in marginalized communities. School Mental Health, 14, 933–950. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-022-09515-4
Gage, N. A., Baker, C. N., Splett, J. W., & Halliday, C. A. (2024). Mental Health Literacy of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support Team Members. American Journal of Health Education, 56(1), 36–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/19325037.2024.2422077
Huang, W., Chen, X., & Wu, Y. (2024). Education fever and adolescent deviance in China. Crime & Delinquency, 70(10), 2826–2850. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287231174421
Huang, W., Chen, X., & Wu, Y. (2023). Tough or no love? Parental migration and children’s exposure to corporal punishment and neglect in rural China. In Vulnerable victimizations (1st ed., p. 20). Routledge.
Jiang, X., Chen, X., Liang, B., & Liu, J. (2024). Family attachment and delinquency among Chinese adolescents: The mediating roles of adolescent self-disclosure and parental knowledge. Crime & Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287241276522
Jiang, X., & Chen, X. (2022). Self-control, contextual factors, and delinquency: Assessing the interactional effects among a sample of youth in rural China. Asian Journal of Criminology, 17, 401–423. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-022-09370-x
Kester, J. S., Hill, T., Thompson, L., Black, C. L., Coriano, V. L., Bruton, J., & Baker, C. N. (2023). Variance in Autism Prevalence: Links With State-Level Autism Resources. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 35(2), 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073231156940
Leyton, A., Meekers, D., Hutchinson, P., Andrinopoulos, K., & Chen, X. (2023). Tough or no love? Parental migration and children’s exposure to corporal punishment and neglect in rural China. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(17–18), 10234–10258. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605231172485
McIntyre, E. M., O’Connor, K. E., Baker, C. N., & Overstreet, S. (2025). Supportive and structured teaching predicts classroom engagement in urban public schools serving predominantly Black students. International Journal of School & Educational Psychology, 13(2), 141–155. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683603.2025.2483203
Moss, L., Wu, K., Tucker, A., Durbin-Matrone, R., Roude, G. D., Francois, S., Richardson, L., & Theall, K. P. (2024). A Qualitative Exploration of the Built Environment as a Key Mechanism of Safety and Social Cohesion for Youth in High-Violence Communities. Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 101(3), 620–628. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-024-00861-z
Petrovic, L., Baker , C., Francois, S., Wallace, M., & Overstreet, S. (2025). Expanding the framework of childhood adversity: Structural violence and aggression in childhood. Child Protection and Practice, 4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chipro.2024.100092
Phelps, C., Francois, S., Rice, K. G., Baker, C. N., & Overstreet, S. (2025). Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Teachers: The Impact of Race and Years of Teaching Experiences. School Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-025-09744-3
Phelps, C., Francois, S., & Hucke, K. (2023). Grief and Trauma-Informed Empowerment Summer Community Arts Curriculum: Qualitative Perceptions of a Pilot Implementation. Journal of Youth Development, 18(1), 5. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/jyd/vol18/iss1/5/
Qu, J., Chen, X., & Wu, Y. (2025). Parental migration and children’s exposure to victimization in China. In Juvenile delinquency, victimization, and justice in Chinese societies (1st ed., pp. 17). Routledge.
Qu, J., Wu, Y., & Chen, X. (2022). Self-control, risky lifestyles, and victimization among Chinese adolescents. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 66(16), 1837–1861. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211027487
Wang, W., Chen, X., Sun, I. Y., & Qu, J. (2025). Testing general strain theory among institutionalized Chinese juveniles. Crime & Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287251339157
Wu, Y., Chen, X., & Qu, J. (2022). Explaining Chinese delinquency: Self-control, morality, and criminogenic exposure. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 49(4), 570–592. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548211034840
Address
1440 Canal Street, Suite 1510, New Orleans, LA 70112
social media
@tulanevpi