Victim Researcher Profile

BIO

Judy has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Tennessee. She is currently a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Rhode Island and teaches general courses in sociology, research methods, and criminology as well as topics courses that she has created in terrorism, family violence, white-collar crime, and social movements. In Jan. 2018 and 2019, she collaborated with Ocean Tides School and Tides Family Services to deliver an experiential immersion course in juvenile justice. In this program, students shadow delinquent boys in custody, social workers, trackers and clinical counselors as they conduct home visits in the community. They shadow teachers, and learn about social work techniques and approaches; visit juvenile court hearings, and learn about juvenile justice intake processes. Dr. Van Wyk’s primary research addresses the effects of poly-victimization on violent juvenile behavior and trauma-informed care in juvenile justice. She has published several articles on consumer fraud victimization and on family violence, and most recently a book titled Turning the Tides of Male Juvenile Delinquency: The Ocean Tides Approach. Currently, she is updating her existing database that contains information on boys (N=2,085) who have been adjudicated delinquent and sentenced to the Ocean Tides school and residential treatment facility in Narragansett (1975-current). She is consulting as lead researcher on this project funded by the Rhode Island Foundation. Dr. Van Wyk is also a certified pet assisted therapist working with her dogs River and Curry delivering services to the boys at Ocean Tides while assessing the impacts of this program of treatment on juvenile compliance and well-being in the facility.

VICTIMIZATION FOCUS

Child Abuse and Sexual Abuse, Domestic and Family Violence, Fraud and Identity Theft, Gun Violence, Sexual Abuse or Violence (other than campus sexual assault), Vicarious Trauma

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

Child victims, Formerly incarcerated victims, Men and boys of color, Male victims generally, Rural victims, Urban high crime neighborhood victims

RESEARCH EXPERTISE

Data collection, Descriptive studies, Ethnography, Needs assessment, Program evaluation, Qualitative studies, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies

VICTIM RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Data collection, Descriptive studies, Ethnography, Needs assessment, Program evaluation, Qualitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies