Areas of Expertise

• Gender and violence
• Intimate partner violence
• Cyber-stalking
• Victimization
• Online harassment
• Victim support services

Key Findings

• Both in-person and cyber intimate partner violence had similar negative behaviors associated with them (depression, substance use and antisocial behavior). MORE
• Cyber intimate partner violence was connected to more negative behaviors than certain types of in-person intimate partner violence. MORE
• Data showed that males were at a higher risk for substance use and antisocial behavior in all models. MORE
• Adolescents that were victims of physical abuse showed more anxiety, higher rates of outward anger, and a lower sense of self-efficacy than adolescents that were victims of parental IPV. MORE
• Victims of parental IPV had lower rates of anxiety, higher levels of inward anger, and a greater sense of strength and preservation than adolescents that were victims of physical abuse. MORE
• Intimate partner cyber aggression is a reliable predictor of intimate partner in-person victimization. MORE
• Threatening and harassing behavior that begins and escalates online is likely to continue when the partners are in close physical proximity. MORE
• The same feelings of failure, status deficiency, and shame that lead some emasculated men to commit intimate partner violence are also the driving forces behind mass murder. MORE
• Victims increasingly have turned to social media in the digital age to spread awareness about victimization through their experiences. MORE
• Online safe spaces help empower individuals to heal by providing support and validation for their experiences and shut down the victim-blaming narratives that dominate. MORE
• Technology may be both a weapon and a shield when it comes against violence against women and girls (VAWG) in public spaces and private places. MORE
• Vulnerable technology users need a continuum of care that may include mentors, social and recreational activities and therapy. MORE
• Social support, specifically prosocial support, played an important role in predicting IPV victimization among women on college campuses. MORE

Biography

Alison Marganski, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and Director of Criminology at Le Moyne College. Her research focuses on gender and violence, including studying the dynamics underlying cyber/technology-facilitated violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, mass murder and other transgressions, from intersectional and interdisciplinary perspectives. Her background includes quantitative and qualitative research, and she has experience working with victims/survivors of violence, persons who have perpetrated violence, and justice-related services.

Marganski is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Ezra Park Award from the Association for Applied & Clinical Sociology, which is presented for outstanding contributions that demonstrate how sociological practice (applied or clinical) can advance and improve society. She was also selected in a global competition by the American Society for Criminology’s Division on Women and Crime to present her research on technology and gender violence at the United Nations-UN Women, and she has been a Fellow for the Center for Urban & Regional Applied Research. She is a board member with Second Chance (an animal-prison/jail program), and has served as past Vice President for the Association for Applied & Clinical Sociology as well as consulted for the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing at the Department of Justice and other agencies. Additionally, she has been a national peer reviewer and collaborated with organizations/agencies at local, state, and national levels. She has also created and led workshops, facilitated trainings, and engaged in other applied activities.

Marganski has been published in various academic journals including the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Family Violence, Violence & Victims, and International Criminal Justice Review.

Marganski received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Criminology from Rutgers University and B.S. in Criminology & Justice Studies from the College of New Jersey.