Research Areas
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Child Health & Well-Being
Gender, Deviance, & Crime
Incarceration
Biography
Dr. Jones’ research efforts center on exploring how exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and other forms of trauma shape life outcomes across the life course and how these processes may vary by groups. To that end, her research focuses primarily on the associations between experiencing trauma and various health and behavioral outcomes, including involvement in crime and delinquency.
Selected Publications
Jones, Melissa S., Hayley Pierce, and Hannah Shoaf*. (In press). “Early Exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences and Delinquent Peer Association Among Youth.” Journal of Family Relations. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12856
Jones, Melissa S., and John P. Hoffmann (authors contributed equally). 2023. “Measuring Adverse Childhood Experiences with Latent Class Trajectories.” Child Abuse & Neglect 140:106142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106142
Jackson, Dylan B., Melissa S. Jones, Daniel C. Semenza, and Alexander Testa. 2023. “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Delinquency: A Theoretically Informed Investigation of Mediators During Middle Childhood.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20(5):4631. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054631
Jones, Melissa S., Meredith G. F. Worthen, Mackenzie Heim*, Susan F. Sharp, and David A. McLeod. 2023. “Differences in Adverse Childhood Experiences and Coercive Control Among Native American and Non-Native American Justice-Involved Women.” Special Issue of Victims & Offenders 18(1):51-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2022.2135653
Holcombe, Emley A.*, Melissa S. Jones, Peter S. Lehmann, and Ryan C. Meldrum. 2023. “Differential Exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Florida High School Students: The Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender.” Journal of Adolescent Health 72(4):553-559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.11.005
Jones, Melissa S., Hayley Pierce, and John P. Hoffmann. 2022. “Gender Differences in Adverse Childhood Experiences, Self-Control, and Delinquency.” Crime & Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221134494
Jones, Melissa S., Tacey M. Shurtliff*, and Julie Gerlinger. 2022. “Racial Differences in the Effects of Early Adverse Childhood Experiences on Delinquency: The Role of Middle Childhood Mechanisms.” Journal of Criminal Justice 82(3):101977. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2022.101977