Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Luciana C. Assini-Meytin, PhD, MS, researches strategies to advance the science of child sexual abuse prevention.
Contact Info
Research Interests
child sexual abuse prevention; adverse childhood experiences; life course research; adolescent health; health disparities.
Additional Links
Experiences & Accomplishments
My research is primarily focused on the development and evaluation of strategies to prevent children from being sexually abused. I also utilize longitudinal cohorts to examine the long-term consequences of child sexual abuse and other types of traumatic events experienced in childhood, for both men and women. My training is in Psychology and Public Health, with a focus on behavioral analysis and life-course research.
Honors & Awards
2024, 2023 Excellence in Teaching Award. Course "Childhood Victimization: A Public Health Perspective." 4th Term. Co-Instructor with Elizabeth Letourneau, PhD. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
2021, 2020 Excellence in Teaching Award. Course "Childhood Victimization: An Overview of Public Health Efforts" Summer Institute. Co-Instructor with Rebecca Fix, PhD. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
2020-2022 Society for Prevention Research’s Early Career Prevention Scientist Training Program Fellowship.
2018 The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect Disruption Paper Finalist.
2016 Glover Dissertation Award. School of Public Health Honors Convocation, University of Maryland. College Park, MD.
2016 Travel Award. Society for Prevention Research. San Francisco, CA.
2015 Honorable Mention. Society for Prevention Research/Early Career Preventionists Network Student Poster Contest. Washington, DC.
Select Publications
Selected Papers:
Assini-Meytin, L.C., Nair, R., McGinty, E.B., Stuart, E.A., & Letourneau, E. J. (2023). Is the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion Associated With Reported Incidents of Child Sexual Abuse? Child Maltreatment, 28(2), 203-208. https://doi.org/10.1177/107755952210796
Assini-Meytin, L.C., Thorne, E.J., Sanikommu, M., Green, K.M., & Letourneau, E.J. (2022). Impact of child sexual abuse on socioeconomic attainment in adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health, 71(5), 594-600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.05.013
Assini-Meytin, L.C., Fix, R.L., Green, K.M., Nair, R. & Letourneau, E.J. (2021). Adverse childhood experiences, mental health, and risk behaviors in adulthood: Exploring sex, racial, and ethnic group differences in a nationally representative sample. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. 10.1007/s40653-021-00424-3
Ruzicka, A., Assini-Meytin, L.C., Schaeffer, C., Bradshaw, C. & Letourneau, E.J. (2021). Responsible behavior with younger children: Examining the feasibility of a classroom-based program to prevent child sexual abuse perpetration by adolescents. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2021.1881858
Assini-Meytin, L.C., Fix, R.L., & Letourneau, E.J. (2020). Child sexual abuse: The need for a perpetration prevention focus. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 29(1), pp. 22-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2019.1703232