Positions

Research Areas research areas

Overview

  • Jennifer O'Brien is an Associate Professor (with tenure) in the Department of Social Work and affiliated with the Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC) at the University of New Hampshire. Her areas of research include childhood sexual abuse, the commercialized sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), and Internet victimization. Dr. O’Brien received her Ph.D. in Social Work in 2017 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her MSW from Smith College School of Social Work in 2010. A licensed clinician, Dr. O’Brien’s research interests stem from her practice experiences both domestically and abroad with survivors of sexual abuse and trauma. Currently, Dr. O’Brien is working on several projects including: the role of technology in the lives of youth who trade sex, law enforcement’s response to victims (and survivors) of CSEC, and CSEC survivor’s treatment needs and preferences. Her work is published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, and has been presented at conferences world-wide.

    • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title
    2024 Emotional Wellbeing and Cognitive Appraisals Among Law Enforcement Exposed to Child Sexually Explicit Materials.  Criminal Justice and Behavior.  51:420-439. 2024
    2023 Pivots and Partnerships: Successes, Challenges, and Lessons Learned From Conducting Research During a Global Pandemic..  Violence Against Women: an international and interdisciplinary journal.  10778012231222490. 2023
    2023 Patterns of Interpersonal Violence Experience and Their Association with Mental Health and Substance Use Problems among Women with Incarceration Histories: A Multidimensional Longitudinal Study.  Journal of Family Violence.  38:1639-1654. 2023
    2023 Understanding and Intervening with Survivors of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: An Application of Social Cognition Theory.  Clinical Social Work Journal.  51:307-315. 2023
    2023 “Flexibility and Consistency”: Qualitative Insights on Valuable Skills for Providers Working with Survivors of Child Sex Trafficking.  Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work: advances in practice, programming, research, and policy.  20:444-459. 2023
    2023 Commercial Sexual Exploitation Outcomes in a Community Sample of Youth..  Journal of Adolescent Health.  72:51-58. 2023
    2023 Sexual posttraumatic stress among investigators of child sexual abuse material.  Policing (Oxford): a journal of policy and practice.  17. 2023
    2022 Rigor and Respect: Recruitment Strategies for Engaging Vulnerable Populations in Research..  Journal of Interpersonal Violence: concerned with the study and treatment of victims and perpetrators of physical and sexual violence.  37:NP17052-NP17072. 2022
    2022 Improving services for youth survivors of commercial sexual exploitation: Insights from interventions with other high-risk youth.  Children and Youth Services Review.  132:106313-106313. 2022
    2022 Practices and Policies Around Wellness: Insights From the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Network..  Frontiers in Psychiatry.  13:931268. 2022
    2021 Sexual exploitation and abuse among adolescents in Ghana: The role of schools.  JOURNAL OF FAMILY TRAUMA CHILD CUSTODY & CHILD DEVELOPMENT.  18:332-352. 2021
    2021 Parent-Child Attachment Moderates the Associations Between Cyberbullying Victimization and Adolescents' Health/Mental Health Problems: An Exploration of Cyberbullying Victimization Among Chinese Adolescents..  Journal of Interpersonal Violence: concerned with the study and treatment of victims and perpetrators of physical and sexual violence.  36:NP9272-NP9298. 2021
    2021 A Path Analysis Investigating the Relationships between Family Violence, Addictive Behaviors, and Trauma among Adolescents in China.  Journal of Family Violence.  36:709-720. 2021
    2021 Investigating the Complex Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration Among System-Involved Women in Heterosexual Relationships: An Exploratory Analysis..  Journal of Interpersonal Violence: concerned with the study and treatment of victims and perpetrators of physical and sexual violence.  36:NP3738-NP3764. 2021
    2020 Child victimization in China: Prevalence and links to family contextual characteristics using a representative sample.  Children and Youth Services Review.  112:104919-104919. 2020
    2020 Featured counter-trafficking program: Love146..  Child Abuse and Neglect.  100:104131. 2020
    2020 The role of the internet in the grooming, exploitation, and exit of United States domestic minor sex trafficking victims.  Journal of Children and Media.  14:187-203. 2020
    2019 Online Requests to Run Away: Prevalence from a Nationally Representative Sample of Youth.  International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice.  2:183-197. 2019
    2019 “What Does It Matter How We Define It?”: Exploring Definitions of DMST Among Service Providers and Victims/Survivors.  Journal of Human Trafficking.  5:91-108. 2019
    2019 Educating Youth About Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: a Systematic Review.  GLOBAL SOCIAL WELFARE.  6:29-39. 2019
    2019 Reporting Maltreatment to Child Protective Services in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence Research..  Violence Against Women: an international and interdisciplinary journal.  25:131-147. 2019
    2019 "It's All about Breaking down Those Barriers…": Exploring Survivors' Perspectives on Services and Treatment Needs following Commercial Sexual Exploitation during Childhood..  Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work.  16:160-177. 2019
    2018 Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement for Video Game Addiction in Emerging Adults: Preliminary Findings from Case Reports.  International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.  16:928-945. 2018
    2018 "Sometimes, Somebody Just Needs Somebody - Anybody - to Care:" The power of interpersonal relationships in the lives of domestic minor sex trafficking survivors..  Child Abuse and Neglect.  81:1-11. 2018
    2018 Body Disapproval as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Risk Factors and Eating Disordered Behaviors Among American Adjudicated Male Youth.  International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.  16:692-706. 2018
    2018 Measuring Substance Use Among System-Involved IPV Survivors: A Research Note..  Violence Against Women: an international and interdisciplinary journal.  24:101-119. 2018
    2017 Domestic minor sex trafficking among adjudicated male youth: prevalence and links to treatment.  Children and Youth Services Review.  82:392-399. 2017
    2017 Research With Children Exposed to Partner Violence: Perspectives of Service-Mandated, CPS- and Court-Involved Survivors on Research With Their Children..  Journal of Interpersonal Violence: concerned with the study and treatment of victims and perpetrators of physical and sexual violence.  32:2998-3026. 2017
    2017 Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Among Child Welfare-Involved Youth: An Exploratory Study of Correlates..  Child Maltreatment.  22:265-274. 2017
    2017 Mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement for internet gaming disorder in U.S. adults: A stage I randomized controlled trial..  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.  31:393-402. 2017
    2016 Culturally specific interventions for female survivors of gender-based violence.  Aggression and Violent Behavior.  31:48-60. 2016
    2016 Mental Health and Behavioral Outcomes of Sexual and Nonsexual Child Maltreatment Among Child Welfare-Involved Youth..  Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: research, treatment and program innovations for victims, survivors and offenders.  25:483-503. 2016
    2016 Body Disapproval Among Adolescent Male Sexual Offenders: Prevalence and Links to Treatment.  Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal.  33:39-46. 2016
    2016 Examining parenting quality and dyad interactions between female CPS- and/or court-involved partner violence survivors and their young children using observational methods.  Journal Of Child Custody.  13:30-51. 2016
    2016 Diagnostic Criteria for Problematic Internet Use among U.S. University Students: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation..  PLoS ONE.  11:e0145981. 2016
    2016 Problem Internet Overuse Behaviors in College Students: Readiness-to-Change and Receptivity to Treatment..  Journal of Evidence-Informed Social Work.  13:373-385. 2016
    2016 “I never knew which way he would swing…:” Exploring the Roles of Substances in the Lives of System-Involved Intimate Partner Violence Survivors.  Journal of Family Violence.  31:61-73. 2016
    2015 Characteristics of internet addiction/pathological internet use in U.S. university students: a qualitative-method investigation..  PLoS ONE.  10:e0117372. 2015
    2015 Eating Disordered Behaviors and Body Disapproval in Adolescent Males Adjudicated for Sexual and Nonsexual Crimes..  Journal of Child Sexual Abuse: research, treatment and program innovations for victims, survivors and offenders.  24:922-942. 2015
    2015 The Effect of U.S. University Students' Problematic Internet Use on Family Relationships: A Mixed-Methods Investigation..  PLoS ONE.  10:e0144005. 2015
    Collection, Storage, and Use of Client Data: Considerations and Recommendations for Human Trafficking Service Providers.  Journal of Human Trafficking.  1-15.
    Medical First Responders and Child Sexual Exploitation: Needs, Efforts, and Next Steps.  Journal of Human Trafficking.  1-11.

    Teaching Activities

  • Special Topics Taught course 2023
  • HBSE III Taught course 2022
  • Intimate Partner Violence Taught course 2022
  • Special Projects & Ind Study Taught course 2022
  • Social Work Practice II Taught course 2022
  • Human Behavior & Soc Environ I Taught course 2021
  • Social Work Practice II Taught course 2021
  • Social Work Practice II Taught course 2021
  • Human Behavior & Soc Environ I Taught course 2020
  • HBSE III Taught course 2020
  • HBSE III Taught course 2020
  • Social Work Practice I Taught course 2020
  • Social Work Practice II Taught course 2020
  • Human Behavior & Soc Environ I Taught course 2019
  • Social Work Practice I Taught course 2019
  • Social Work Practice II Taught course 2019
  • HBSE III Taught course 2018
  • Human Behavior & Soc Environ I Taught course 2018
  • Adv Generalist Practice IV Taught course 2018
  • Social Work Practice II Taught course 2018
  • Human Behavior & Soc Environ I Taught course 2017
  • Human Behavior & Soc Environ I Taught course 2017

    • Full Name

  • Jennifer O'Brien

    • Mailing Address

  • University of New Hampshire

    Department of Social Work

    55 College Rd.

    Durham, NH  03824

    United States