Violence Prevention and Trauma Studies

Area of Focus

Violence Prevention and Trauma Studies

The Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research conducts research on the etiology, consequences and prevention of multiple types of violence, including youth violence, child maltreatment, community violence, sexual assault, and intimate partner/teen dating violence.

Previously, studies of the etiology of youth violence and child maltreatment have identified potentially modifiable features of urban neighborhoods to use in the design of prevention programs, and identified teen behaviors and attitudes to use in prevention of dating and intimate partner violence.

Violence prevention studies evaluate interventions and initiatives designed to prevent violence within an urban context, including prevention of teen dating violence among urban youth.

The Institute’s researchers use an ecological perspective to investigate environmental, social and individual determinants of violence in an attempt to better understand its causes and consequences, and to inform prevention efforts.

Through this work, we strive to continually inform interventions that that ameliorate the consequences of the trauma of exposure to violence, as well as prevent interpersonal and community violence from occurring.

Beth Molnar - Institute for Health Equity and Social Justice Research, Northeastern University

Beth Molnar (Lead)
Associate Professor
Northeastern University

Alisa Lincoln - Northeastern University

Alisa Lincoln
Director of IHESJR
Northeastern University

Rachael Jones - Northeastern University

Rachel Jones
Associate Professor
Northeastern University

ACTIVE ASSOCIATED PROJECTS

ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS

Faculty

Faculty

Beatriz E. D., Lincoln A., Alder J., Daley N., Simmons F., Ibeh K.,…Molnar BE. (2018). Evaluation of a teen dating violence prevention intervention among urban middle-school youth using Youth Participatory Action Research: Lessons learned from Start Strong Boston. Journal of Family Violence, 33(8): 563-578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-9981-4

Beatriz, E. D., Salhi, C., Griffith, J. L., & Molnar, B. E. (2018). Urbanicity matters in self-reported child maltreatment prevalence: findings from a nationally representative study. Child abuse & neglect, 79, 371-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.02.028

Johnson R. M., Duncan D. T., Gilreath T., Rothman E. F., Hemenway D., Molnar B. E., & Azrael D. (2015). Fighting with siblings and with peers among urban high school students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(13), 2221-2237. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260514552440

Johnson, S. E., Hoffman, J. A., Kruger, L., J., & Rizzo, C. J. (2015). Teaching school psychology students about teen dating violence: A snapshot of training practices across the U.S. School Mental Health, 7(4), 249-260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-015-9156-x

Molnar B. E., Beatriz E. D., & Beardslee W. R. (2016). Community-level approaches to child maltreatment prevention. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 17(4), 387-97. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838016658879

Molnar B. E., Goerge R. M., Gilsanz P., Subramanian S. V., Holton J. K., Hill A.,… Beardslee W. R. (2016). Neighborhood-level social processes and substantiated cases of child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 51, 41-53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.11.007

Molnar B. E., Sprang G., Killian K. D., Gottfried R., Emery V., & Bride B. E. (2017). Advancing science & practice for vicarious traumatization/secondary traumatic stress: A research agenda. Traumatology, 23(2), 129-142. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/trm0000122

Pabayo R., Molnar B. E., & Kawachi I. (2014). The role of neighborhood income inequality in adolescent aggression and violence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55(4), 571-579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.04.012

Pabayo R., Molnar B. E., & Kawachi I. (2014). Witnessing a violent death and smoking, alcohol consumption, and marijuana use among adolescents. Journal of Urban Health, 91(2), 335-354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-013-9828-5

Street N. W., McCormick M. C., Austin S. B., Slopen N., Habre R., & Molnar B. E. (2016). Sleep duration and risk of physical aggression against peers in urban youth. Sleep Health, 2(2): 129-135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2016.03.002

Faculty Scholars

Faculty Scholars

Azrael, D., Cohen, J., Salhi, C., & Miller, M. (2018). Firearm storage in gun owning households with children: Results of a 2015 national survey. Journal of Urban Health, 95(3), 295-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-018-0261-7

Beatriz, E. D., Salhi, C., Griffith, J. L., & Molnar, B. E. (2018). Urbanicity matters in self-reported child maltreatment prevalence: findings from a nationally representative study. Child abuse & neglect, 79, 371-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.02.028

Lindauer, M. (2016). ‘Please stop telling her to leave’. Where is the money: Reclaiming economic power to address domestic violence. 39, 1263-1280, Seattle University Law Review.

McBain, R. K., Salhi, C., Hann, K.., Salomon, J. A., Kim, J. J., & Betancourt T. S. (2015). Costs and cost-effectiveness of a mental health intervention for war-affected young persons: decision analysis based on a randomized controlled trial. Health policy and planning, 31(4), 415-424. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czv078

Montgomery B. E., Rompalo A., Hughes J., Wang J., Adimora A., Haley D. F.,… Hodder S. L. (2018). HIV-risk characteristics associated with violence against women: A longitudinal study among women in the United States. Journal of Women’s Health, 27(11). https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2017.6505.

Montgomery B. E., Rompalo A., Hughes J., Wang J., Haley D., Soto-Torres L.,… Hodder S. (2015). Violence against women in selected areas of the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 105(10), 2156-2166.  https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302430.

Puffer, E. S., Annan, J., Sim, A. L., Salhi, C., & Betancourt T. S. (2017). The impact of a family skills training intervention among Burmese migrant families in Thailand: A randomized controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 12(3), e0172611. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172611

Student Graduate Assistants

Student Graduate Assistants

Ballou, M., Balogun, O., Gittens, G., Matsumoto, A., & Sanchez, W. (2015). Trauma and returning to work: Women’s lived experiences and its implications for vocational rehabilitation counseling. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling, 46(1), 25-33.

Green, C. L., Nahhas, R. W., Scoglio, A. A. J., & Elman, I. (2017). Post-traumatic stress symptoms in pathological gambling: Potential Evidence of Anti-Reward Processes. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 6(1), 98-101. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.6.2017.006

Mackowiak, C. & Scoglio, A. A. J. (2018). The Safing Center: A specialty clinic for treatment and prevention of IPV with veterans. Psychological Services, 15(4), 371-376. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ser0000181

Scoglio A. A. J., Kraus S. W., Saczinski J., & Molnar B. E. (2019). Systematic review of risk and protective factors for revictimization after child sexual abuse. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838018823274

Scoglio, A. A. J., Rudat, D. A., Garvert, D., Jarmolowski, M., Jackson, C., & Herman, J. L. (2018). Self-compassion and responses to trauma: The role of emotion regulation. Journal of interpersonal violence, 33(13), 2016-2036. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515622296

Scoglio, A. A. J., Shirk, S. D., Hoff, R. A., Potenza, M. N., Mazure, C. M., Park, C. L.,… Kraus, S. W. (2017). Gender-specific risk factors for psychopathology and reduced functioning in a post-9/11 veteran sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517746182