Kristen M Fite

Graduate Research Assistant

Victimization, gender & crime, police responses to victimization, re-entry

Kristen is a graduate student in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society. Her current research centers around police reporting patterns among domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV) victims, specifically through the lens of citizenship, race, and ethnic identity.

She is a part of the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP), currently working with Drs. Yang and Irvin-Erickson on a project focused on enhancing police response to mental health problems in Virginia, as well as with the Virginia CIT Coalition, assisting with data analysis and translation to practitioners across the state.

Selected Publications

Guzman, L. E., Fite, K. M., Frank, H. E., Martinez, R. G., & Bridges, A. J. (2025). Understanding Treatment Barriers for Major Depressive Disorder in the Latino Community: A Qualitative Study Stratified by Language Preferences. Transcultural Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634615251359457

Education

M.A. in Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University

B.A. in Criminology and Sociology, University of Arkansas

Recent Presentations

Fite, K. M. “The Role of Citizenship Status in Help-Seeking Behaviors and Reporting to Police Among Domestic Violence Survivors.” Paper presented at American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. November 13-16, 2024.

Fite, K. M. “What the NCVS Tells Us About Police Reporting Among Domestic Violence Victims and the Impact of Immigration.” Poster presented at the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Student Research Expo, Virtual. October 29, 2024.