Research
Current Projects
Personality Assessement Inventory
This project is funded by the Psychological Assessment Resources (PAR), Inc. and led by Dr. Edelyn Verona. Dr. Verona and the PAI research team will collect data on the newest version of the Personality Assessment Inventory to approximately 400 participants held in detention at the Pasco County Jail. The aim of this project is to understand how personality traits and disorders may relate to incarceration, treatment responsivity, and recidivism.
Max Planck institutes Risk perception study
This Max Planck Institutes (MPI) funded study, led by Drs. Christoph Engel, Dan Nagin, and Bryanna Fox explores risk perceptions and social values among a rural jail population. This study builds upon a previous collaboration with the Pasco County Jail and consists of an intervention experiment, in which participants will be randomly assigned to a treatment group.
CALL PROGRAM EVALUATION
The Community Assistance and Life Liaison (CALL) program involves a partnership between the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) and the Gulf Coast Jewish Family Community Services (JFCS) to divert non-violent and non-crime-related calls to human services professionals instead of law enforcement. As part of this, Dr. Edelyn Verona, center leader Dr. Karen Liller, and clinical doctoral student Alora McCarty, will conduct an independent process evaluation of the CALL program that focuses on equitable access and implementation. This evaluation is funded by the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg (FHSP).
PARC STUDY, PASCO COUNTY JAIL
The Psychological Assessment of Risk and Criminality (PARC) project, which represents a collaborative effort between the research labs of Dr. Edelyn Verona and Dr. Bryanna Fox, aims to identify the psychological risk factors and needs among those in a county jail, improve the accuracy of risk assessments, implement new services, and help address recidivism due to lack of mental health and substance abuse treatment.
NIJ REENTRY SERVICES & RCT EVALUATION
This National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded project, led by Dr. Edelyn Verona and Dr. Bryanna Fox, serves to implement new evidenced-based treatments, case management, and reentry services, using the risk-needs-responsivity model, for jail inmates in the Pasco County Jail using a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The impact of these interventions will be evaluated on potential reductions in future offending, and improvement in well-being.
POLICING REFORM & EVALUATION
This project, stemming from Mayor Jane Castor's Task Force on Policing in 2020, aims to implement and evaluate new evidenced-based policing reforms and programs aimed at addressing community concerns in the Tampa Police Department. Led by Dr. Bryanna Fox, this project is supported through generous donations from all of Tampa's professional sports teams including the Buccaneers, Lightning, Rays, and Rowdies.