Theses and dissertations published by graduate students in the Department of Sociology ad Criminal Justice, College of Arts & Letters, Old Dominion University, since Fall 2016 are available in this collection. Backfiles of all dissertations (and some theses) have also been added.

In late Fall 2025, all theses will be digitized and available here. In the meantime, consult the Library Catalog to find older items in print.

Follow

Theses/Dissertations from 2024

PDF

Dissertation: Crisis in the Coalfields: State/Corporate Violence, Historical Trauma, & Concentrated Substance Misuse and Harm, Brooke Baker

PDF

Dissertation: A Criminological Analysis of the “White Supremacy to Anti-Immigrant Violence Pathway”, Ida Oesteraas

PDF

Dissertation: Innocence Through an Intersectional Lens: An Examination of Women and Wrongful Convictions, Briana Paige

Theses/Dissertations from 2022

PDF

Dissertation: Invisibly Inked: An Intersectional Analysis of Tattooed Female Arrest Patterns, Jocelyn N. Camacho

PDF

Dissertation: A Tale of Two Gentrifications: Reconceptualizing Gentrification Using Third Places, Demolition and Hierarchical Linear Modeling, Kylil R. Martin

PDF

Thesis: Blood Lead Levels in Minority Children: A Case of Environmental Racism, Erick Rivera

PDF

Dissertation: Exploring the Workplace Climate at Police Agencies During Civil Unrest and the Factors Influencing Officers' Participation in Black Lives Matter Protesting, Joshua R. Ruffin

Theses/Dissertations from 2021

PDF

Thesis: Indian Media Narratives in Gang Rape, Astha Bhandari

PDF

Dissertation: Is It Better to Be Tough, or Is Consistency Key? A Multilevel Analysis Examining the Effects of School Disciplinary Procedures on Perceptions of Climate and Safety Among Students and Teachers, Erica Nicole Bower

PDF

Dissertation: Courageous Endurance: The Lived Experiences of Trans Folx and the Criminal Legal System, April Carrillo

PDF

Thesis: Wrath and Relationships: Homicide Weapon Choice and Victim Offender Relationships, Joseph Gonnella

PDF

Dissertation: Abandoned Allies: A Case Study Analysis of the Special Immigrant Visa Program, Sarah Pedigo Kulzer

PDF

Thesis: The Impact of Parent and Peer Socialization on Juvenile Delinquency, Ebony I. Pender

PDF

Dissertation: The Ideology of the Carceral State: Examining the Prison Through Film, Ryan Phillips

PDF

Thesis: The Role of Religiosity in Drug Use: A Social Integration Perspective, Lindsey Dianna Thomas

PDF

Dissertation: “Acts of Pure Evil”: The Portrayal of Mass Shooting Events on Online Media Platforms, Elizabeth Twitty

Theses/Dissertations from 2020

PDF

Thesis: Effects of Religion on Crime in Hampton Roads, Alaina Yvonne Bierdz

PDF

Thesis: Fighting for Power: Class Conflicts in Political Participation, David Foley

PDF

Thesis: Cultural Capital, Habitus and Academic Achievement, Tevin Vaughan

PDF

Dissertation: Defying the Odds: The Resilience of African American Youth in the Face of Differential Treatment in the Classroom, Frank R. Wood Jr.

Theses/Dissertations from 2019

PDF

Thesis: Acculturation: Friend or Foe of the Career Aspirations and Educational Aspirations and Expectations of Hispanic Youth?, Kyhara Nathalia Aguilera

PDF

Thesis: Teacher and Child Interaction: The Effects of Familial Distress, Child Behavior, and Teacher Perceptions, Jessekah R. Ennis

PDF

Dissertation: Residential Mobility and the Underclass: Impact of Moving in the 'Hood, Michael A. Hollingsworth

PDF

Thesis: Effects of Prison Program Participation on Recidivism Outcomes, Jordan Jakobs

PDF

Thesis: How Health Problems Affect Children's Anti-Social Behaviors and Their Attitudes Towards School, Prosper Kwame Mensah

PDF

Thesis: Disparities in Sentencing: The Impact of Race, Gender and Mental Health, Briana Paige

PDF

Dissertation: "...Make Them Disappear With A Piece of Paper": Understanding the Lived Realities of Federally Unrecognized Indigenous Women in the Southeast, Brian A. Pitman

PDF

Dissertation: "They Think We’re the Drama-Makers”: Examining Middle-Class African American Girl Perceptions of School Discipline and Mistreatment, Asha M. Ralph

PDF

Thesis: The Weight of Words: A Content Analysis of Rhetoric in Online News Articles Reporting on Sex Crimes, Julie Snell

Theses/Dissertations from 2018

PDF

Thesis: Exploring the Association Between How Social Media Affects Attitudes Toward Marijuana Legalization, Troy Adam Aubut II

PDF

Thesis: Exploring Factors That Enhance Career Advancement for African-Americans Across Various Criminal Justice Occupations: A Qualitative Examination, Antonio Jon Bryer

PDF

Thesis: More Than What Meets the Eye: An Examination of Characteristics That Impact Juvenile Justice Detention Decisions, Ashley Maria Buchanan

PDF

Thesis: Online Social Capital: Social Networking Sites' Influence on Civic and Political Engagement, Charles L. Bush

PDF

Thesis: Predictors of Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards Abortion and Their Changes Overtime, Rebecca Elizabeth Morales

PDF

Thesis: When Silence Screams: An Examination of Reporting Behaviors Among Sexual Assault Victims on HBCU Campuses, NaTasha Robinson

PDF

Dissertation: Punishment as Pedagogy: An Exploration of the Disciplinary Alternative School, Kaitlyn J. Selman

PDF

Dissertation: Policing the Drinking Community: An Assessment of the Criminal Justice Response to Drunk Driving and Alcohol Related Crashes (1985 -2014), Richard James Stringer

PDF

Thesis: School Connectedness and Academic Success, Keyondra Michelle Wilson

Theses/Dissertations from 2017

PDF

Thesis: Working Together: Examining the Effects of Parental and Community Involvement in Schools on School Delinquency, Erica Nicole Bower

PDF

Dissertation: School Resource Officers and the School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Mixed Methods Application of the Behavior of Law in Schools, Caitlin Grace Lynch

PDF

Dissertation: The United States Benefit Deficit for Veterans, Leslie-Dawn Quick

PDF

Dissertation: The Devil Is in the Details: Representations of the Rural Appalachian Deviant, Stephen T. Young

Theses/Dissertations from 2016

PDF

Thesis: “Just Young Dudes Having Fun”?: Social Media Reactions to the ODU Banner Incident, Ashley Marie Giraldi

PDF

Thesis: The Strength of Weak Social Ties: Social Activism and Facebook, Nichole Akai Giraldi

PDF

Dissertation: Governing the "Alien Threat": A Multilevel Analysis of Punitiveness Toward Non-Citizen Federal Drug Offenders Across Time and Place, Melanie Marie Holland

PDF

Dissertation: Bakken Bombs: A Criminological Inquiry into the Lynchburg Train Derailment, Travis W. Milburn

PDF

Thesis: United States Interventions: Power Vacuums and the Rise of Extremist Groups, Sarah Nicole Pedigo

PDF

Dissertation: Making the Case for Place: An Exploration of Urbanization Measures on a Model of Social Capital and U.K. Crime Rates, Kyshawn K. Smith

PDF

Dissertation: Killing The State: The Cultural Afterlife of Edward Byrne, Justin Turner

PDF

Dissertation: Care, Control, or Criminalization? Discourses on Homelessness and Social Responses, Lindsey L. Upton

PDF

Dissertation: What Can State Talk Tell Us About Punitiveness? A Comparison of Responses to Political Mass Shootings in The United States and Norway, Kimberlee G. Waggoner

PDF

Thesis: Education and Post-Release Employment: An Exploratory Study of Offender Perceptions, Frank R. Wood Jr.

Theses/Dissertations from 2015

PDF

Thesis: The Strength of Social Bonds in Preventing at Risk Youth from Engaging in Delinquent and Law Violating Behavior, Christopher A. Falcone

PDF

Dissertation: Texting While Driving: A Test of Self-Control Theory, Charles R. Gray

PDF

Dissertation: Tokin Up in the 5280: Insight Into How Denver Police Officers Make Sense of, and Define, Interpret, and React to the Legalization of Marijuana, Kara K. Hoofnagle

PDF

Dissertation: The Influence of Financial Institutions and Residential Lending on Neighborhood Crime, Anne M. Lee

PDF

Dissertation: Cultural Influences on Attitudes Toward the Criminal Justice System: A Focus on the Filipino American Community, Moises Osias Mina Jr.

PDF

Dissertation: Honor, Courage, Commitment: Understanding Sexual Assault in the United States Navy, Caitlin Veronica Muldoon

PDF

Thesis: Predictors of Self-Esteem in Children Exposed to Potentially Traumatic Events, Colleen Michelle Ray

PDF

Thesis: Perceptions of Social Control in Disadvantaged Neighborhoods and Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Use: Are They Related?, Kanita Shiquia Sumner

Theses/Dissertations from 2014

PDF

Thesis: The Influence of Childhood Maltreatment on Substance Abuse in Adulthood, James Michael Blinco

PDF

Thesis: The Effectiveness of Motivational Interviewing on Intimate Partner Violence Clients, Chelsea Drake

PDF

Dissertation: Exploring Police Shootings and Officer Survivability: A Case Study, Amanda Leigh Farrell

Dissertation: Crime and Panic: Contextual Factors in Violent and Sex Offender Sentencing, Jessica Huffman

PDF

Dissertation: Patriarchal Ideology and Violence Against Women: A Theoretical Contribution Using Longitudinal, Individual-Level Analyses, Jesse Robert McKee

PDF

Dissertation: The Darfur Name Game: Use of Realpolitik by the United Nations in Decision-making and Intervention, Angela Overton

PDF

Thesis: A Cross-National Analysis of the Impact of Conscription on Crime Rates, Nicolette G. Rose

PDF

Dissertation: A Façade of Normalcy: An Exploration into the Serial Murderer's Duplicitous Lifestyle, Maryann Stone White

Theses/Dissertations from 2013

PDF

Thesis: An Exploration of Drug Trafficking Among Female Offenders in the Caribbean, Dianne Berger-Hill

PDF

Thesis: Bullying Among School-Aged Children, Alfreada Brown-Kelly

PDF

Dissertation: A Further Test of Strain Theory: Does Gender Discrimination Contribute to Theft by Employees?, John A. Casten

PDF

Dissertation: To Catch a Pirate: Analyzing Processes of Policy Making on Maritime Piracy, Victoria E. Collins

PDF

Thesis: Child Emotional Abuse and Its Relationship to Obesity, Kelly Anderson Driscoll

PDF

Dissertation: Rez Realities: Exploring the Perceptions of Crime and Justice Among Tribal Police Officers in Indian Country, Favian Alejandro Martin

PDF

Thesis: Blaming the Victim: Effects of Victim and Respondent Characteristics on Attribution of Blame to Rape Victims, Richard Allen Measel

PDF

Thesis: Reefer Madness to Marijuana and Legalization: Media Exposure and American Attitudes Towards Marijuana (1975-2010), Richard James Stringer

PDF

Thesis: Sweeping the Floors of Privilege: The Lived Experiences of University Janitors, Jennifer Laverne Turner

PDF

Thesis: There Are No "Innocent Victims": The Influence of Just World Beliefs and Prior Victimization on Rape Myth Acceptance, Rebecca Lynne Vonderhaar

Theses/Dissertations from 2012

PDF

Thesis: Satisfaction With Police: Explaining Variation by Race, Megan N. Centeno

PDF

Thesis: For the Bible Tells Me So: An Analysis of Religiosity, Attitudes Towards Women, and Intimate Partner Violence, Stephen Cecil Parker

PDF

Thesis: Media, Military, Militarism: Media Consumption, Awareness of U.S. Military Foreign Policy, and Support for War, Daniel James Patten

Theses/Dissertations from 2011

PDF

Thesis: Prenatal Smoking and Drinking Implications for Subsequent Child Maltreatment, Nicholas Alexander Adams

PDF

Thesis: From Victim to Abuser an Analysis of Child Sex Offenders, Ava M. Adinolfi

PDF

Dissertation: Collective Efficacy and Intimate Partner Violence: Community Context, Catherine B. Cowling

PDF

Thesis: Domestic Violence as a Contributing Factor to Juvenile Substance Use, Victoria Felicitas Sophie Danz

PDF

Thesis: The Dynamics of Drug Trafficking/ Smuggling by Female Offenders in the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Approach, Le 'Jeane' Iman Ellis

PDF

Thesis: Predictors of Pre-Dispositional Juvenile Detention: Race Gender and Intersectionality, Jennifer Lee Gebler

PDF

Thesis: Meaning of Hijab According to Urban Egyptian and Yemeni Muslim Women, Kenneth E. Jackson

PDF

Thesis: Wrongful Convictions and Punitiveness: Measuring Student's Attitudes on Erroneous Felony Convictions, Shayna Lancaster

PDF

Thesis: Exploratory Study of Countries Lacking Data on Female Genital Mutilation in the Middle East and Africa, Nazia Rose Naeem

PDF

Thesis: Looking Beyond the Medical Model of Sexuality: Social Factors in Women's Sexual Satisfaction, Cristalle Rae Pronier

Theses/Dissertations from 2010

PDF

Thesis: Untangling Fear of Crime: A Multi-Theoretical Approach to Examining the Causes of Crime-Specific Fear, Mariel Alper

PDF

Thesis: Religion on Divorce, Erik B. Doherty

PDF

Thesis: User-Generated Video Sites Effects on Aggression and Interpersonal Relations of Old Dominion Undergraduate Students, Christopher R. Hodge

PDF

Thesis: Domestic Violence and Recidivism: Does Stake in Conformity Matter?, Sara R. Olson

PDF

Thesis: Akers' Social Learning Theory: Childhood Victimization, Witnessing Violence, Peer Violence and Later Violent Offending, Pamela Annette Styles

Theses/Dissertations from 2009

PDF

Thesis: Retaining Employees The Relationship Between Organizational Loyalty and Commitment and Employee Retention, Sara L. Baker

PDF

Thesis: Intimate Partner Violence: Criminal Justice Responses to High Lethality Cases, Victoria E. Collins

PDF

Thesis: Investigating Connections: Pornography and Violence Against Women, Stacy Gorman

PDF

Thesis: Media Exposure and Women's Fear of Crime, Pamela C. Hooper