Tamara Kang | SIU

Clinical Psychology

Dr. Tamara Kang received her Ph.D. in Legal Psychology, M.A. in Clinical Psychology, and Quantitative Certificate from the University of Texas at El Paso. Prior to coming to SIUC, Dr. Kang completed her postdoctoral fellowship developing and implementing a Youth Needs and Progress Scale (YNPS) on Dr. Robert Prentky’s Department of Justice funded grant at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Broadly, Dr. Kang is interested in psychology and law. Specifically, Dr. Kang’s Barriers to Reducing Crime Lab is committed to: (1) re-entry barriers for justice-involved persons; (2) effective implementation of evidence-based practices; (3) translation of research into policy and practice; (4) assessment and rehabilitation for justice-involved persons offenders; (5) distrust in scientists who conduct the research that supports criminal justice reform initiatives; and (6) mental health stigmatization.

Research Interests

Reduction of crime, re-entry barriers, translation of research into policy and practice, rehabilitation and assessment in corrections, mental health, trust in scientists, implementation

Representative Publications

Kang Balzarini, T. & Eno Louden, J. (2024). What factors contribute to differential perceptions towards evidence-based practices? An examination of officer role orientation, job satisfaction, confidence, and skill proficiency. Criminal Justice and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548241230085

Kang Balzarini, T., *Kuzmickus, D., *Nation, R., *Swaby, M., & *Ingram, K. (2024). Examination of factors that influence rural residents’ beliefs regarding the dangerousness of justice-involved persons with a mental illness. Journal of Crime and Justice. https://doi.org/10.1080/0735648X.2024.2374740

Balzarini, T. K. (2023). The lost scrolls of the Correctional Bible: Before the Risk-Need-Responsivity Model. In P. Magaletta, M. Ternes, & M. Patry (Eds). The History and Future of Correctional Psychology. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37480-7_8

Kang, T., *Green, A., *Akamani, B., & *Pinkston, K. (2022). Rural residents’ emotions, beliefs, and sources that influenced those beliefs regarding sex offender policies, practice, and the efficacy of treatment. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsl.2562

Kang, T., Lee, A., *Beltrani, A., & Prentky, R. A. (2022). Tracking dynamic intervention needs as a vehicle for mitigating risk among juveniles with sex offenses. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 29(2), 210–223. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000375

*Beltrani, A., Kang, T., Lee, A., McGrath, R., & Prentky, R. A. (2023). A classification system to guide treatment needs for juveniles who have engaged in abusive sexual behavior. Criminal Justice and Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548231193414

*Adair, R., Kang, T., Eno Louden, J., & Perez, E. (2023). Pathways to crime: The voices of Latina women living on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Psychology, Crime, & Law. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2023.2213383