Judy Van Wyk

Biography

Judy A. Van Wyk is a member of the Muscogee Nation and a Sociologist. She teaches courses in sociology, research methods, criminology, juvenile & social justice, social movements, family violence, and white-collar crime. She is faculty advisor for Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society, and the interdisciplinary minor in Social Justice and Civic Responsibilities; Vice Chairperson for the Ocean Tides Board of Trustees (Lasallian school and residential program for adjudicated boys); and she conducts pet therapy (Peace-Train Professional Pet Therapy®) with the residents at the Rhode Island Training School (RITS), Kent County Courthouse, and the Ocean Tides school.

Professor Van Wyk’s research centers on violent delinquency, particularly the effects trauma and polyvictimization on violence against others and suicide. She investigates both victimization and offending and tests multi-level cross-disciplinary explanations for troubled behavior. Her research aims to aid programing for troubled youth. She has been awarded grants from the Bureau of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and the Rhode Island Justice Commission, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention/Intervention (JJDP), among others. She has published several articles and a book titled Turning the Tides of Male Juvenile Delinquency: The Ocean Tides Approach.  

Education

  • Ph.D. in Sociology with specializations in Criminology & Research Methods, University of Tennessee, 1999
  • M.A. in Sociology with specialization in Criminology, University of Tennessee, 1995
  • B.A. in Sociology, Summa Cum Laude, University of Oklahoma, 1993
  • A.S. in Sociology, Connors State College, 1991

Selected Publications

Van Wyk, J. A. (2023) ACEs and angst: Adverse childhood experiences, General Strain Theory, and adolescent male suicidal and violent behaviors. Sage Open, 13(2). 10.1177/21582440231176710.

Van Wyk, J. A. (2022) Is violence, violence no matter where it strikes? Adjudicated boys, thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability for suicide. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 37(21-22): NP20816-NP20846.

Van Wyk, J. (2020) Latinx boys and juvenile delinquency. Crime & Delinquency, 68(10): 1876-1897.

Van Wyk, J. (2018, Sept./Oct.) One Chapter’s Organizing Journey: National challenges promote activism, Academe, 104(5).

Van Wyk, J. (2017, Dec.) Hiding science, URI AAUP Newsletter, XLII(2), pg. 2.

Van Wyk, J. (2017) Assessing impacts of Rhode Island juvenile justice reforms. Program Report from grant no. 2015-JF-FX-0062, DOJ OJJDP.

Grebstein, L. and Van Wyk, J. A. (2016). Turning the Tides of Male Juvenile Delinquency: The Ocean Tides Approach. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Van Wyk, J. A. (2015). Family Violence and the Middle Class. In Robert S. Rycroft, (ed.), The American Middle Class: An Economic Encyclopedia of Progress and Poverty, ABC-Clio.

Van Wyk, J. (2005) Hidden hazards of responding to domestic disputes, Chapter 3, pgs. 41-54 in H. Copes (ed.) Policing and Stress. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

DeMaris, A., Benson, M. L., Litton Fox, G., Hill, T. and Van Wyk, J. (2003) Distal and proximal factors in domestic violence: A test of an integrated model. Journal of Marriage and Family. 65(3): 652-667.

Van Wyk, J., Benson, M. L., Litton Fox, G., and DeMaris, A. (2003) Detangling individual, partner, and community level correlates of partner violence. Crime and Delinquency. 49(3): 412-438.  

Benson, M. L., Litton Fox, G., DeMaris, A., and Van Wyk, J. (2003) Neighborhood disadvantage, individual economic distress and violence against women in intimate relationships. Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 19(3): 207-235. 

Litton Fox, G., Benson, M. L., DeMaris, A., and Van Wyk, J. (2002) Economic distress and intimate violence: Testing Family Stress and Resource Theories. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 64(3): 793-807. 

Van Wyk, J. and Mason, K. (2001) Investigating vulnerability and reporting behavior for consumer fraud victimization: Opportunity as a social aspect of age. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. 17(4): 328-345. 

Copes, H., Kerley, K., Mason, K., and Van Wyk, J. (2001) Explaining variation in the reporting behavior of fraud victims: A test of Black’s Theory of Law. Justice Quarterly. 18(2): 343-363. 

Van Wyk, J., Benson, M. L., and Harris, D. K. (2000) A test of Strain and Self-Control Theories: Occupational crime in nursing homes. Journal of Crime and Justice.23(2): 27-44. 

Benson, M. L., Litton Fox, G., DeMaris, A., and Van Wyk, J. (2000) pgs. 91-109. Violence in families: The intersection of race, poverty and community context, in Families and Crime, G. Litton Fox and M. L. Benson (eds.). Stamford, CT: JAI Press Inc.

Van Wyk, J. and Benson, M. (1998) Fraud victimization: Risky business or just bad luck? The American Journal of Criminal Justice. 21(Spring-2): 163-179.