Associate Professor of Forensic Psychology, Elijah Ricks

Teaching and scholarship from Dr. Ricks, biographical information, and resources for students.

Research

My research broadly addresses where clinical psychology is relevant to the corrections system. For example, my students, collaborators, and I have done and are doing work in the following areas:

  • Perceptions of gendered culpability in sexual misconduct.
  • Ethnic disparities in mental health treatment in corrections.
  • Correctional staff’s attitudes and role emphases.
  • The characteristics and job duties of correctional mental health workers (example).
  • Mental health in juvenile offenders.
  • Risks to juvenile delinquents who also have a maltreatment history.
  • Public perceptions of police officers’ responses to offenders with mental illness.
  • Assessment instruments used with juvenile offenders.
  • Mental health and sentencing disparities among adult offenders.

Below is a list of my peer-reviewed publications and presentations:

  • Vozar, T., & Ricks, E. P. (2023, March). A qualitative study of the impact of conceptual confusion on clinicians’ perspectives about the validity and utility of psychopathy and antisocial personality disorder. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Haneda, A., & Ricks, E. P. (2022, March). Attitudes about gender and perceptions of culpability in an awkward sexual encounter. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Denver, CO.
  • Haneda, A., Tan, A., & Ricks, E. P. (2021, March). Sleep’s role in eyewitness accuracy for facial recognition. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Virtual Conference.
  • Haneda, A., Tan, A., & Ricks, E. P. (2020, April). Does time affect recall accuracy? Poster presented at the Roosevelt University Student Research Symposium, Chicago, IL.
  • Ricks, E. P., Geise, C., & Wood, J. M. (2019). Challenges to Hispanic youth with both delinquency and maltreatment history. Journal of Applied Juvenile Justice Services, 2019, 208-233. Available at http://npjs.org/jajjs/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Challenges-to-Hispanic-Youth-with-Both-Delinquency-and-Maltreatment-History.pdf
  • Eno Louden, J., Manchak, S., Ricks, E., & Kennealy, P. (2019, June). Probation officers’ attitudes towards mental illness: Effects on risk perceptions and case management. In R. Morgan (Chair), Intervening with justice involved persons with mental illness. Symposium presented at the North American Correctional and Criminal Justice Psychology Conference (Halifax, NS, Canada).
  • Allen, B. A., & Ricks, E. P. (2019, March). Law enforcement’s experiences with sex trafficking. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Portland, OR.
  • Ngo, T., Ricks, E. P. (2019, March). Public perception of police conduct in arrest situations involving individuals with schizophrenia. Poster presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Portland, OR.
  • Ricks, E. P., Ferreira, M., & Eno Louden, J. (2018). The changing correctional mental health workers’ demographics and duties. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/pro0000207
  • Allen, B. A., & Ricks, E. P. (2018, October). Law enforcement’s experiences with sex trafficking. Paper presented at the Graduate Research Association of Students in Psychology Symposium, Chicago, IL.
  • Allen, B. A., & Ricks, E. P. (2018, September). Law enforcement’s experiences with sex trafficking. Paper presented at the McNair Fall Research Symposium, Chicago, IL.
  • O’Leary, F., & Ricks, E. P. (2018, September). Career choices for male and female correctional psychotherapists. Paper presented at the McNair Fall Research Symposium, Chicago, IL.
  • Allen, B. A., & Ricks, E. P. (2018, July). Law enforcement and sex trafficking. Paper presented at the University of Buffalo Undergraduate Research Conference, Niagara Falls, NY.
  • Castro, N., & Ricks, E. P. (2018, July). Former Latino/a offenders and mental health stigma. Paper presented at the University of Buffalo Undergraduate Research Conference, Niagara Falls, NY.
  • Allen, B. A., & Ricks, E. P. (2018, April). Law enforcement and sex trafficking. Paper presented at the McNair Research Symposium, Chicago, IL.
  • Goebel, J., & Ricks, E. P. (2018, March). The influence of race on the MACI: Assessing differences in juvenile offenders at the item, scale, and structural levels. Poster session presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Memphis, TN.
  • Eno Louden, J., Manchak, S. M., Ricks, E. P., & Kennealy, P. J. (2018). The role of stigma toward mental illness in probation officers’ perceptions of risk and case management decisions. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45, 573-588. doi:10.1177/0093854818756148
  • Kang, T., Wood, J. M., Eno Louden, J., & Ricks, E. P. (2018). Prevalence of internalizing, externalizing, and psychotic disorders among low-risk juvenile offenders. Psychological Services, 15(1), 78-86. doi:10.1037/ser0000152
  • Eno Louden, J., Kang, T., Ricks, E. P., & Marquez, L. (2017). Using the MAYSI-2 to identify mental disorder among Latino juvenile offenders. Psychological Assessment, 29, 727-739. doi:10.1037/pas0000399
  • Houston, K. A., Russano, M. B. & Ricks, E. P. (2017). “Any Friend of Yours is a Friend of Mine”:  Investigating the Utilization of an Interpreter in an Investigative Interview. Psychology, Crime and Law, 5, 413-426. doi:10.1080/1068316X.2017.1290091
  • Ricks, E. P. (2017, March). Integrating sleep into eyewitness research. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Seattle, WA.
  • Ferreira, M., & Ricks, E. P. (2017, March). An updated look at correctional mental health workers’ characteristics and job duties. Poster session presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Seattle, WA.
  • Kang, T., Eno Louden, J., Ricks, E. P., Avila, A., & Castañeda, J. (2016, November). Risk-need-responsivity meta-analysis: Does the responsivity principle uniquely contribute to reducing recidivism? Paper presented at the annual conference of The American Society of Criminology, New Orleans, LA.
  • Ricks, E. P., Eno Louden, J., & Kennealy, P. J. (2016). Probation officer role emphases and use of risk assessment information before and after training. Behavioral Sciences & The Law, 34, 337-351. doi:10.1002/bsl.2219
  • Geise, C., Ricks, E. P., & Wood, J. M. (2016, March). Dually-involved youth of El Paso County, Texas. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Atlanta, GA.
  • Ricks, E. P., & Eno Louden, J. (2016). Slipping through the cracks: Is mental illness appropriately identified among Latino offenders? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 43, 525-538. doi:10.1177/0093854815605525
  • Kang, T., Eno Louden, J., Ricks, E. P., & Jones, R. (2015). Aggression, substance use disorder, and presence of a suicide attempt among juvenile offenders with subclinical depression. Law and Human Behavior, 39, 593-601. doi:10.1037/lhb0000145
  • Eno Louden, J., Ricks, E. P., & Kennealy, P. J. (2015, June). Does probation officer role orientation affect learning in risk assessment training? Paper presented at the third North American Correctional and Criminal Justice Psychology conference, Ottawa, Canada.
  • Ricks, E. P., & Eno Louden, J. (2015, March). Slipping through the cracks: Is mental illness appropriately identified among Latino offenders? Poster session presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, San Diego, CA.
  • Houston, K. A., Russano, M., & Ricks, E. P. (2014, October). Interpreter-facilitated communication: Relationship dynamics and seating configuration. Paper presented at the High-Value Detainee Group (HIG) Research Symposium, Washington, DC.
  • Ricks, E. P. (2015). The rock and the hard place: How the prison psychotherapist balances treatment needs with security needs (Publication No. 3712882) [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas at El Paso]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
  • Ricks, E. P., & Eno Louden, J. (2015). The relationship between officer orientation and supervision strategies in community corrections. Law and Human Behavior, 39(2), 130-141.doi:10.1037/lhb0000098
  • Kang, T., Eno Louden, J., Ricks, E. P., & Jones, R. (2014, March). Aggression, substance abuse, and suicide in juvenile offenders with subclinical depression. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, New Orleans, LA.
  • Kang, T., Wood, J., Eno Louden, J., & Ricks, E. P. (2014, March). Prevalence of psychological disorders in a predominantly Hispanic sample of first-time offenders. Symposium conducted at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, New Orleans, LA.
  • Ricks, E. P., & Eno Louden, J. (2013, March). The effect of community corrections officers’ supervision orientation on decisions for offenders. Poster session presented at the annual conference of the American Psychology and Law Society, Portland, OR.
  • Eno Louden, J., Kang, T., & Ricks, E. P. (2013, March). Utility of the MAYSI-2 at identifying Axis I disorders among Hispanic juvenile offenders. In R. Morgan (Chair), Mental illness in criminal justice settings: Identifying needs and custodial concerns. Symposium conducted at the annual conference of the American Psychology-Law Society, Portland, OR.
  • Doty, K. J., Ricks, E. P., Fisher, S., & Harris, L. (2009, February). A residential intervention for high functioning adults with learning disabilities. Poster session presented at the annual conference of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Salt Lake City, UT.