Faculty

Roger J. R. Levesque

Department Chair
Professor
Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1990
J.D., Columbia University, 1993

Roger J. R. Levesque received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law (1993) and his Ph.D. in cultural psychology from the University of Chicago (1990). Before joining the Department of Criminal Justice, he was Professor Law and Psychology at the University of Arizona and was a Fellow in the Law & Psychology Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as well as its Center on Children, Families and the Law.

He currently is working on a book that examines the law’s potential role in addressing the place of stigma in adolescent life, a (regrettably ignored) factor that figures prominently in how adolescents treat one another, how they engage broader society, and how society responds to them. He recently completed editing the five volume Encyclopedia of Adolescence (Springer, 2011). His other recent books include Child Maltreatment and the Law: Returning to First Principles (Springer 2008) as well as Adolescents, Media, and the Law: What Developmental Science Reveals and Free Speech Requires (Oxford University Press 2007). His other books include Child Sexual Abuse: A Human Rights Perspective (Indiana University Press, 1999), Adolescents, Sex, and the Law: Preparing Adolescents for Responsible Citizenship (American Psychological Association, Law and Social Science Series, 2000), Culture and Family Violence: Fostering Change through Human Rights Law (American Psychological Association, Law & Social Science Series, 2001), Dangerous Adolescents, Model Adolescents: Shaping the Role and Promise of Education (Plenum/Kluwer, American Psychology/Law Society Book Series, 2002), Child Maltreatment Law: Foundations in Science, Practice and Policy (Carolina Academic Press, 2002), Not by Faith Alone: Religion, Adolescence, and the Law (New York University Press, 2002); Sexuality Education: What Adolescents' Rights Require (edited) (Nova Science Publishers, 2003) and The Psychology and Law of Criminal Justice Processes (Nova Science Publishers, 2006). Professor Levesque serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry as well as Behavioral Sciences & the Law, and Psychology, Law and Public Policy; he also continues to serve as external editor for several interdisciplinary journals.

Professor Levesque is the recipient of numerous awards and has earned many distinctions. The Association for Psychological Science (APS) (previously the American Psychological Society) has elected him Fellow in recognition of his outstanding contributions to developmental science. In addition, the American Psychological Association (APA) has elected him Fellow in recognition of his contributions to the field of psychology and law as well as his contribution to psychology’s place in the study of social issues; he is Fellow in the American Psychology/Law Society as well as the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. Recently, Professor Levesque won the Trustees Teaching Excellence Award and the Society for Research on Adolescence Outstanding Book Award for his book entitled Not by Faith Alone. He also won the American Psychology and Law Society Outstanding Book Award, 2009, for his Adolescents, Media and the Law. He has chaired the American Orthopsychiatric Association's Task Force on Mental Health and Human Rights and has served on several recent task forces and working groups, including some under the auspices of the American Psychological Association and the offices of the U.S. Surgeon General. Professor Levesque also has led training seminars for professionals interested in a wide variety of topics relating to adolescents and the law.

Professor Levesque currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. In addition to being the first journal devoted to the study of adolescence (founded over 40 years ago), it is the most cited to journal of its kind as well as the most widely found in libraries worldwide. You are encouraged to view the journal's website http://www.editorialmanager.com/joyo/ and to consider submitting your empirical work relating to the period of adolescence. Please do use the above link if you wish to submit a manuscript. For reasons to consider publishing in the Journal, click here.

Professor Levesque also edits Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development, a book series examining social and individual factors that contribute to adolescents' responsibility (including irresponsibility) in multiple contexts and settings. Please see the announcement as well as the current listing of books. If you would like your writing project considered, use this New Product Proposal Form and do feel free to contact Dr. Levesque directly for more information. He is best contacted through e-mail at rlevesqu@indiana.edu.