Doctoral Student Bios

Kristen M Fite

Institutional and state responses to vulnerable populations, victimization, social inequality

Kristen is a doctoral student in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society. Broadly, her interests are centered around institutional and state responses to vulnerable populations. Her current work examines whether race and ethnicity impact police follow-through in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, as well as victims’ perception of whether the response of law enforcement met their expectations.

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 individuals experiencing mental health crises 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.