The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Dr. Lin Liu, an assistant professor at the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, a two-year $379,455 grant for research on the cultural and social precipitants of suicide among justice-involved youth. Drs. Liu and Jeremy Pettit, a Professor of Psychology at Florida International University and the co-PI of this project, will work in collaboration to implement the project.
Suicide studies have been largely driven by biological and psychological factors. This project was developed in hopes of identifying the social and cultural precipitants of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs), which helps us understand why youth from certain cultural backgrounds are hesitant to admit their mental health needs, share their experiences of STBs, and seek help. Examining the cultural and social facilitators of STBs is instrumental in developing culturally sensitive diagnostic procedures and therapeutic services. Realizing that focusing on the vulnerable youth who navigate their lives in the juvenile justice system is sorely needed in suicide research, Dr. Liu’s team will focus on a state-wide sample of justice-involved youth. This groundbreaking study will directly inform the development of culturally responsive suicide screening, prevention, intervention, and therapeutic services in the setting of juvenile justice facilities and treatment centers.
For her contributions to the research of juvenile delinquency, reentry and reintegration, and mental health of justice-involved populations, Lin also received three paper awards from the American Society of Criminology and four research awards from the University of Delaware, the Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and the International Honor Society of Sociology.