Kelly Socia

Kelly M. Socia

Professor

College
College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
School of Criminology and Justice Studies
Phone
978-934-4999
Office
Health and Social Sciences Building (HSSB) - 455
Email
Kelly_Socia@uml.edu
Links

Expertise

Public Opinion, punitivity, and crime control policies; Reentry and ‘sex crime’ policies; Spatial Analysis/GIS; Experimental and quasi-experimental designs

Research Interests

Public Opinion, punitivity, and crime control policies; Reentry and ‘sex crime’ policies; Spatial Analysis/GIS; Experimental and quasi-experimental designs

Education

  • Ph D: Criminal Justice, (2011), University at Albany, SUNY - Albany, NY
    Dissertation/Thesis Title:Residence Restriction Legislation, Sex Crime Rates, and the Spatial Distribution of Sex Offender Residences
  • MA: Criminal Justice, (2008), University of Albany, SUNY - Albany, New York, United States
  • BS: Business Administration: Management Information Systems, (2005), Rochester Institute of Technology - Rochester, New York, United States
    Highest Honors
    Minor: Criminology

Biosketch

My research covers a variety of topics surrounding public opinion, crime control policies, violent crimes, and individuals returning to the community. One such interest concerns how public policies relating to crime control and reentry are proposed, supported, and implemented, with a specific focus on how labels and demographics influence public opinion, punitivity, and policy support. I am also interested in policies applying to the reentry process, especially for individuals with sex crime convictions, such as residence restriction policies.

Selected Awards and Honors

  • Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service (2006), Service, Professional - Office of the Secretary of Defense

Selected Publications

  • Novick, Rachel, Socia, Kelly M., and Pickett, Justin T. (2022) “Asymmetric Compassion Collapse, Collateral Consequences, and Reintegration: An Experimental Study” Justice Quarterly. 39(7), 1475-1498. doi:10.1080/07418825.2022.2119157
  • Socia, Kelly M., Stone, Rebecca, Palacios, Wilson, and Cluverius, John. (2022) “Too harsh for me but not for thee? Threat control, personal freedom, and perception of pandemic policy” Justice Quarterly. 39(7), 1592-1617. doi:10.1080/07418825.2022.2117238
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2022) “Driving public support: Support for a law is higher when the law is named after a victim.” Justice Quarterly. 39(7), 1449-1474. doi:10.1080/07418825.2022.2064329
  • Dum, Christopher P., Socia, Kelly M., Bengt, George, and Neiderman, Halle. (2022) “The Effect of Reading Prisoner Poetry on Stigma and Public Attitudes: Results from a multigroup survey experiment” The Prison Journal. 102(1), 3-24. doi:10.1177/00328855211069127
  • Socia, Kelly M., Stone, Rebecca, Palacios, Wilson, Cluverius, John. (2021) “Focus on Prevention: The public is more supportive of ‘Overdose Prevention Sites’ than they are of ‘Safe Injection Facilities.” Criminology & Public Policy, 20(4), 729-754. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12566
  • Socia, Kelly M., Rydberg, Jason, and Dum, Christopher P. (2021) “Punitive Attitudes Towards Individuals Convicted of Sex Offenses: A Vignette Study” Justice Quarterly. 38(6), 1262-1289. doi:10.1080/07418825.2019.1683218
  • Socia, Kelly M., Morabito, Melissa M., Bond, Brenda J., and Nader, Eli S. (2021) “Public Perceptions of Police Agency Fairness and the Willingness to Call Police” The American Review of Public Administration. 51(5), 360-373. doi:10.1177/02750740211005699
  • Thompson, Lisa, Rydberg, Jason, Cassidy, Michael, Socia, Kelly M., (2020) “Contextual Influences on the Sentencing of Convicted Sex Offenders” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 32(7), 778-805. doi:10.1177/1079063219852936
  • Socia, Kelly M., Grady, Melissa D., Bolder, Tess, Cronin, Kelli, Hurt, Christi, Vidrine, Sarah (2020) “Perceptions of Individuals Who Commit Sexual Offenses and Related Policies: A Group Comparison” Criminal Justice Policy Review. 31(7), 1059-1094. doi:10.1177/0887403419873126
  • Dum, Christopher P., Socia, Kelly M., Yarrison, Fritz, and Long-Yarrison, Brooke L. (2020) “Would God Forgive? Attitudes Towards Sex Offenders in Places of Worship.” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 32(5), 567-590. doi:10.1177/1079063219839498
  • Powers, Ráchael A., Khachatryan, Norair, and Socia, Kelly M. (2020) “Reporting Victimization to the Police: The Role of Racial-Dyad and Bias Motivation” Policing & Society. 30(3), 310-326. doi:10.1080/10439463.2018.1523164
  • Stone, Rebecca, and Socia, Kelly M. (2019) “Boy with Toy or Black Male with Gun: An analysis of online news articles covering the shooting of Tamir Rice.” Race and Justice. 9(3), 330-358. doi:10.1177/2153368716689594
  • Powers, Ráchael A. and Socia, Kelly M. (2019) “Racial Animosity, adversary effect, and hate crime: Parsing out injuries in intraracial, interracial, and race-based offenses” Crime & Delinquency. 65(4), 447-473. doi:10.1177/0011128718779566
  • Socia, Kelly M., Dum, Christopher P., and Rydberg, Jason. (2019) “Turning a Blind Eye: Public Support of Emergency Housing Policies for Sex Offenders.” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 31(1), 25-49. doi:10.1177/1079063217720925
  • Brown, Elizabeth K., Socia, Kelly M., and Silver, Jason R. (2019) “Conflicted Conservatives, Punitive Views, and Anti-Black Racial Bias 1974-2014” Punishment & Society. 21(1), 3-27. doi:10.1177/1462474517736295
  • Novick, Rachel, Pickett, Justin T., Socia, Kelly M. (in press) “Asymmetric Value Collapse, Collateral Consequences, and Reintegration: An Experimental Study” Justice Quarterly.
  • Socia, Kelly M., Stone, Rebecca, Palacios, Wilson, and Cluverius, John. (in press) “Too harsh for me but not for thee? Threat control, personal freedom, and perception of pandemic policy” Justice Quarterly.
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2022) “Driving public support: Support for a law is higher when the law is named after a victim.” Justice Quarterly. Online ahead of print. doi:10.1080/07418825.2022.2064329
  • Dum, Christopher P., Socia, Kelly M., Bengt, George, and Neiderman, Halle. (2022) “The Effect of Reading Prisoner Poetry on Stigma and Public Attitudes: Results from a multigroup survey experiment” The Prison Journal. 102(1), 3-24. doi:10.1177/00328855211069127
  • Socia, Kelly M., Stone, Rebecca, Palacios, Wilson, Cluverius, John. (2021) “Focus on Prevention: The public is more supportive of ‘Overdose Prevention Sites’ than they are of ‘Safe Injection Facilities.” Criminology & Public Policy, 20(4), 729-754. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12566
  • Socia, Kelly M., Rydberg, Jason, and Dum, Christopher P. (2021) “Punitive Attitudes Towards Individuals Convicted of Sex Offenses: A Vignette Study” Justice Quarterly. 38(6), 1262-1289. doi:10.1080/07418825.2019.1683218
  • Socia, Kelly M., Morabito, Melissa M., Bond, Brenda J., and Nader, Eli S. (2021) “Public Perceptions of Police Agency Fairness and the Willingness to Call Police” The American Review of Public Administration. 51(5), 360-373. doi:10.1177/02750740211005699
  • Thompson, Lisa, Rydberg, Jason, Cassidy, Michael, Socia, Kelly M., (2020) “Contextual Influences on the Sentencing of Convicted Sex Offenders” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 32(7), 778-805. doi:10.1177/1079063219852936
  • Socia, Kelly M., Grady, Melissa D., Bolder, Tess, Cronin, Kelli, Hurt, Christi, Vidrine, Sarah (2020) “Perceptions of Individuals Who Commit Sexual Offenses and Related Policies: A Group Comparison” Criminal Justice Policy Review. 31(7), 1059-1094. doi:10.1177/0887403419873126
  • Dum, Christopher P., Socia, Kelly M., Yarrison, Fritz, and Long-Yarrison, Brooke L. (2020) “Would God Forgive? Attitudes Towards Sex Offenders in Places of Worship.” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 32(5), 567-590. doi:10.1177/1079063219839498
  • Powers, Ráchael A., Khachatryan, Norair, and Socia, Kelly M. (2020) “Reporting Victimization to the Police: The Role of Racial-Dyad and Bias Motivation” Policing & Society. 30(3), 310-326. doi:10.1080/10439463.2018.1523164
  • Stone, Rebecca, and Socia, Kelly M. (2019) “Boy with Toy or Black Male with Gun: An analysis of online news articles covering the shooting of Tamir Rice.” Race and Justice. 9(3), 330-358. doi:10.1177/2153368716689594
  • Powers, Ráchael A. and Socia, Kelly M. (2019) “Racial Animosity, adversary effect, and hate crime: Parsing out injuries in intraracial, interracial, and race-based offenses” Crime & Delinquency. 65(4), 447-473. doi:10.1177/0011128718779566
  • Socia, Kelly M., Dum, Christopher P., and Rydberg, Jason. (2019) “Turning a Blind Eye: Public Support of Emergency Housing Policies for Sex Offenders.” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 31(1), 25-49. doi:10.1177/1079063217720925
  • Brown, Elizabeth K., Socia, Kelly M., and Silver, J. R. (2019) “Conflicted Conservatives, Punitive Views, and Anti-Black Racial Bias 1974-2014” Punishment & Society. 21(1), 3-27. doi:10.1177/1462474517736295
  • Rydberg, Jason, Dum, Christopher P., and Socia, Kelly M. (2018) “Nobody Gives A #%&!: A Factorial Survey Examining The Effect Of Criminological Evidence On Opposition To Sex Offender Residence Restrictions” Journal of Experimental Criminology. 14(4), 541-550. doi:10.1007/s11292-018-9335-5
  • Rydberg, Jason, Cassidy, Michael, and Socia, Kelly M. (2018). “Punishing the wicked: Examining the correlates of sentence severity for convicted sex offenders” Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 34(4), 943-970. doi:10.1007/s10940-017-9360-y
  • Brown, Elizabeth K. and Socia, Kelly M. (2017) “Twenty-First Century Punitivity: Social Sources of Punitive American Views Reconsidered.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 33(4), 935-959. doi:10.1007/s10940-016-9319-4
  • Dum, Christopher P., Socia, Kelly M., and Rydberg, Jason. (2017) “Public support for emergency shelter housing interventions concerning stigmatized populations: Results from a randomized experiment.” Criminology & Public Policy. 16(3), 835-877. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12311
  • Socia, Kelly M. and Brown, Elizabeth K. (2017) “Up in Smoke: The Passage of Medical Marijuana Legislation and Enactment of Dispensary Moratoriums in Massachusetts.” Crime & Delinquency. 63(5), 569-591. doi:10.1177/0011128714557024
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2017). “Sex Offender Civil Commitment Policies in Context.” [Editorial Introduction]. Criminology & Public Policy. 16(3), 909-911. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12329
  • Walfield, Scott M., Socia, Kelly M., and Powers, Ráchael A. (2017) “Religious Motivated Hate Crimes: A Multilevel Analysis of the Factors Related to Arrest.” American Journal of Criminal Justice. 42(1), 148-169. doi:10.1007/s12103-016-9349-3
  • Morabito, Melissa M., Socia, Kelly M., Wik, Amanda, and Fisher, William. (2017) “The Nature and Extent of Police Use of Force in Encounters with People with Behavioral Health Disorders.” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 50(1), 31-37. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2016.10.001
  • Briones, Rhissa R., Powers, Ráchael A., and Socia, Kelly M. (2016) “Sexual Orientation Bias Crimes: Examination of Victim Reporting, Perceptions of Police Bias, and Police Response.” Criminal Justice and Behavior. 43(12), 1688-1709. doi:10.1177/0093854816660583
  • Socia, Kelly M., and Harris, Andrew J. (2016) “Evaluating public perceptions of the risk presented by registered sex offenders: Evidence of Crime Control Theater?” Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 22(4), 375-385. doi:10.1037/law0000081
  • Harris, Andrew J. and Socia, Kelly M. (2016) “What’s in a Name? Evaluating the Effects of the ‘Sex Offender’ Label on Public Opinions and Beliefs.” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 28(7), 660-678. doi:10.1177/1079063214564391
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2016) “Examining the Concentration of Registered Sex Offenders in Upstate New York Census Tracts.” Crime & Delinquency. 62(6), 748-776. doi:10.1177/0011128714526563
  • Levenson, Jill S. and Socia, Kelly M. (2016) “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Arrest Patterns in a Sample of Sexual Offenders.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 31(10), 1883-1911. doi:10.1177/0886260515570751
  • Socia, Kelly M. and Brown, Elizabeth K. (2016) “‘This Isn’t About Casey Anthony Anymore’: Political Rhetoric and Caylee’s Law.” Criminal Justice Policy Review. 27(4), 348-377. doi:10.1177/0887403414551000
  • Pattavina, April, Socia, Kelly M., and Zuber, Malgorzata (2016) “Economic Stress and Domestic Violence: Examining the Impact of Mortgage Foreclosures on Incidents Reported to the Police 2005 to 2009” Justice Research and Policy, 16(2), 147-164. doi:10.1177/1525107115623938
  • Socia, Kelly M., Levenson, Jill S., Ackerman, Alissa R., and Harris, Andrew J. (2015) “‘Brothers Under the Bridge’: Factors Influencing the Transience of Registered Sex Offenders in Florida” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 27(6), 559-586. doi:10.1177/1079063214521472
  • Morabito, Melissa S. and Socia, Kelly M. (2015) “Is Dangerousness a Myth? Injuries and Police Encounters with People with Mental Illness.” Criminology and Public Policy. 14(2), 253-276. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12127
  • Levenson, Jill S., Ackerman, Alissa R., Socia, Kelly M., and Harris, Andrew J. (2015) “Where for art thou? Transient Sex Offenders and Residence Restrictions.” Criminal Justice Policy Review. 26(4), 319-344. doi:10.1177/0887403413512326
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2015) “State Residence Restrictions and Forcible Rape Rates: A Multi-State Quasi-Experimental Analysis of UCR Data.” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 27(2), 205-227. doi:10.1177/1079063213509412
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2014) “Residence Restrictions are Ineffective, Inefficient, and Inadequate: So Now What?” Criminology & Public Policy. 13(1), 179-188. doi:10.1111/1745-9133.12071 [Policy Essay]
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2013) “Too Close for Comfort? Registered Sex Offender Spatial Clustering and Recidivistic Sex Crime Rates.” Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. 25(6), 531-556. doi:10.1177/1079063212469061
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2013) “Residence Restrictions and the Association with Registered Sex Offender Clustering.” Criminal Justice Policy Review. 24(4), 441-475. doi:10.1177/0887403412445613
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2012) “The Efficacy of County-Level Sex Offender Residence Restrictions in New York” Crime & Delinquency. 58(4), 612-642. doi:10.1177/0011128712441694
  • Socia, Kelly M. and Stamatel, Janet P. [equal contribution] (2012) “Neighborhood Characteristics and the Social Control of Registered Sex Offenders.” Crime & Delinquency. 58(4), 565-587. doi:10.1177/0011128711420111
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2012) “The Implementation of County Residence Restrictions in New York.” Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 18(2), 206-230. doi:10.1037/a0024993
  • Socia, Kelly M. (2011) “The Policy Implications of Residence Restrictions on Sex Offender Housing in Upstate, NY.” Criminology & Public Policy, 10(2), 351-389. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2011.00713.x
  • Socia, Kelly M. and Stamatel, Janet P. (2010). “Assumptions and Evidence Behind Sex Offender Laws: Registration, Community Notification, and Residency Restrictions.” Sociology Compass. 4(1), 1-20. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00251.x
  • Freeman, Naomi J., Sandler, Jeffrey C., and Socia, Kelly M. (2009). “A Time-Series Analysis on the Impact of Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification on Plea Bargaining Rates.” Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law, and Society. 22(2), 153-165. doi:10.1080/14786010902975424
  • Sandler, Jeffrey C., Freeman, Naomi J., and Socia, Kelly M. (2008). “Does a Watched Pot Boil: A Time-Series Analysis of New York State's Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law.” Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 14(4), 284-302. doi:10.1037/a0013881
  • Selected Presentations: Plenary Speaker, “Translating Research Evidence into Public Policy Recommendations” Plenary Talk, Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) National Conference, Scheduled October 2022
  • Socia, Kelly M., Stone, Rebecca. Palacios, Wilson R., and Cluverius, John. “Beyond framing: How respondent characteristics and experiences influence support for safe injection facilities in the United States.” Howard League Crime, Justice, & Social Harms Conference. Oxford, UK. September 2022
  • Socia, Kelly M., Palacios, Wilson R., and Stone, Rebecca. “The influence of message framing on support for safe injection facilities in the United States.” Annual Meetings of the Criminology Consortium, Online conference. November 2020.
  • Socia, Kelly M., Shields, Ryan T., and Burke, Cameron. “Getting Lucky or Getting Abused: A Content Analysis of Public Comments on News Articles About Sexual Abuse” Poster session. Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers Annual Conference, Online, October 2020.

Selected Contracts, Fellowships, Grants and Sponsored Research

  • PI, “Establishing the UMass Lowell Crime, Justice, and Security Poll (CJSP)” (with co-PIs Joshua Dyck, Andrew Harris, Jason Rydberg), Internal Seed Grant, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, $10,000 (2021)
  • Consultant, “Community Participatory Research on Veterans in Specialized Programming, JCOIN Coordination and Translation Center” (PI James Byrne), Subaward under 5U2CDA050097-02, National Institute of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (PI Faye Taxman) (2021-2023)
  • PI, “Addressing COVID-19 public health misinformation” (with co-PIs Wilson Palacios and John Cluverius), Internal Seed Grant, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, $10,000 (2020)
  • Co-I, “Improving Identification, Prevalence Estimation, and Earlier Intervention for Victims of Labor and Sex Trafficking” (with PI Ryan Shields), 2019-VT-BX-0037, National Institute of Justice, $499,483 (2019)
  • Co-PI, “Community-level influences on the sentencing of convicted sex offenders” (with PI Jason Rydberg), 2015-R2-CX-0039, National Institute of Justice, $39,997 (2015)
  • PI, “Analyzing Indicators of Disorder, Community Structure, and Crime in Lowell, MA” (with joint PI Melissa Morabito), Internal Seed Grant, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, $8,000 (2014 – 2015)
  • PI “Predictors of Injury and Reporting of Intraracial, Interracial, and Racially-Biased Nonsexual Assaults” (with PI Ráchael A. Powers), 2013-R2-CX-0033, National Institute of Justice, $39,995 (2013). Data published as ICPSR36236-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: ICPSR [distributor], 2018-05-16.
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, “Residence Restriction Legislation and Sex Offender Residential Locations in New York” 2010-IJ-CX-0004, National Institute of Justice, $25,000 (Sept. 2010 – May 2011)