O'Neill School at IU Indianapolis
801 West Michigan Street
BS 4056
Indianapolis, IN
46202
Biography
Dena Carson joined the O’Neill School at IUPUI as an assistant professor after working as the project director for a three-year grant that focused on gang desistance. Dena also taught as an assistant research professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where she also earned her Ph.D. in 2011.
Dena’s broad research interests include youth violence and gangs. More specifically, her work focuses on the role of group processes in gangs and delinquent peer groups, gang disengagement, as well as the impact of gangs in the school setting. Her recent publications have appeared in Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, Justice Quarterly, and the Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology.
Education
- Ph.D., Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 2011
- M.A., Criminology, University of South Florida, 2007
- B.S., Chemistry, Pittsburg State University, 2003
Professional Experience
- Project Director, A Multi-method, Multi-site Study of Gang Desistance. Funded by the National Institute of Justice. Principal Investigator: Finn-Aage Esbensen, 2012-2014
- Assistant Research Professor, University of Missouri-St. Louis, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2011-2014
Highlights
- Recipient, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Tory J. Caeti Young Scholar Memorial Award. (2019)
- James L. Maddex, Jr., Criminal Justice Review, Paper of the Year Award: “Youth gang desistance: An examination of the effect of different operational definitions of desistance on the motivations, methods, and consequences associated with leaving the gang.” (2014)
Selected Intellectual Contributions
- “Gangs in school: Exploring the experiences of gang-involved youth.” (with F. Esbensen) Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice (2019)
- “Examining racial and ethnic variations in reasons for leaving a youth gang.” Journal of Developmental and Life Course Criminology (2018)
- “School transitions as a turning point for gang status.” (with C. Melde, S. Wiley, and F. Esbensen) Journal of Crime & Justice (2017)
- Arrest and the amplification of deviance: Does gang membership moderate the relationship?” (with S. Wiley, F. Esbensen) Justice Quarterly (2016)
- “Motivations for Leaving: A Qualitative Comparison of Leaving Processes across Gang Definitions.” (with F. Esbensen) Gang Transitions and Transformations in an International Context (2016)
- “Youth gang desistance: An examination of the effect of different operational definitions of desistance on the motivations, methods, and consequences associated with leaving the gang.” (with D. Peterson, F. Esbensen)Criminal Justice Review (2013)