Dr. Cait Cavanagh
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caitcavanagh.bsky.social
Dr. Cait Cavanagh
@caitcavanagh.bsky.social

Juvenile justice researcher from a developmental psych perspective ▪️ Associate Professor, School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University ▪️ Treasurer, Lansing Board of Education

www.TheADJustLab.com
Pinned
I made a Juvenile Justice starter pack!
go.bsky.app/JMZs2Kf

Please share widely and message me to be included!
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
A Nature poll found that 75% of U.S. researchers are considering leaving the country.

Guyz, even the *historians* are leaving or contemplating / likely to go. Including, at least 3 historians that I know of in my subfield. 😢
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country. That includes a man who’s been dubbed the "Mozart of Math." Stephanie Sy examines what’s b...
www.pbs.org
October 31, 2025 at 7:50 PM
I had so much fun talking about career path, approach to research, and current projects with the MSU Psychology Club! Plus I honestly got some of the toughest questions I’ve ever gotten in my career— these students are deep thinkers!
October 30, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Why yes I did get not one but two desk rejects this morning
a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a door that says meeting in progress
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a door that says meeting in progress
media.tenor.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Happy fall semester from the ADJust Lab!
October 29, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Check out my piece in The Conversation about a new law in Detroit aimed to curb youth violence. But might it have unintended negative consequences? And what approaches might be more effective? Learn more here: theconversation.com/detroit-pare...
Detroit parents face fines if their children break curfew − research shows the policy could do more harm than good
The fines of $250 for a first offense and $500 for a second hit low-income families the hardest.
theconversation.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:52 PM
🚨New article alert! Aaaand it’s a timely one!

We tested how Latina immigrants' attitudes toward police and judges differed based on their documentation status and history of family deportations.

Check it out here: journals.sagepub.com/eprint/BNE9D...

Or read the explainer 🧵 below...
October 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
The capitulation of universities—one after another after another after another without a shared strategy to fight the fascist assault together—is a historical blunder that will also end these elite institutions as ostensible places of genuine knowledge seeking.
August 12, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
Science is effectively dead in the US for at least the next 3½ years, and will then take another several years to even get started again. Canceled research doesn’t just uncancel itself, and scientists who find opportunity elsewhere won’t just come flocking back.

The damage is generational.
All scientific grant funding must now be approved by a political appointee and "demonstrably advance the President's policy priorities."

I wonder where innovation will happen in the future? It won't be in the US

arstechnica.com/science/2025...
New executive order puts all grants under political control
All new funding on hold until Trump administration can cancel any previously funded grants.
arstechnica.com
August 8, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
If you missed @caitcavanagh.bsky.social’s discussion of adolescent development & legal system issues, her Law & Mental Health Series talk is available on our YouTube channel:

youtu.be/RlFj6bu0A3E?...
July 22, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Great discussion today as part of the University of New Mexico Law & Mental Health series! Thanks @anthonyperillo.bsky.social for the invite and to the participants for joining the conversation.
July 22, 2025 at 6:08 PM
A huge congratulations to the newly-minted DOCTOR @alyssa-laberge.bsky.social!

Alyssa has worked with me for 7 years, first as a master’s student and then as a PhD student. Her growth as a scholar, teacher, and person has been such a joy to witness.

She’s on to a TT position at UW LaCrosse!
July 15, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
The number of extreme weather disasters has jumped fivefold worldwide over the past 50 years, and the number of deaths has nearly tripled, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
The Texas Flash Flood Is a Preview of the Chaos to Come
Climate change is making disasters more common, more deadly and far more costly, even as the federal government is running away from the policies that might begin to protect the nation.
www.propublica.org
July 14, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
Deporting childcare workers is a backhanded way to force US-born White women out of the workforce and into stay-at-home motherhood, where they'll become easier targets for conservative propaganda campaigns.
July 10, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
In a study of professors, women got 378 new work requests over 4 weeks vs 118 for men. Women spent more time on service, advising & teaching; men on research. Orgs should track who is taking extra duties & ensure they are rewarded and distributed fairly. www.forbes.com/sites/kimels...
Being Too Helpful At Work Can Hurt Your Career—Here’s How To Say No
Women are more likely to take on behind-the-scenes duties at work—extra tasks like onboarding or event planning—and it's hurting their careers. Here's how to say no.
www.forbes.com
July 7, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
US science is being taken apart brick by brick.
"Kennedy said the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet...were 'corrupt'...'Unless those journals change dramatically, we are going to stop NIH scientists from publishing in them and we’re going to create our own journals in-house'”
RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
May 28, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
tl;dr — this EO co-opts the language of open science to implement a system of political control wherein presidential appointees are given broad latitude to designate any number of reasonable scientific activities and inferences as scientific misconduct, and to penalize those involved accordingly.
Restoring Gold Standard Science
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United
www.whitehouse.gov
May 24, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
Harvard today, your institution tomorrow.

It's all part of the Project 2025 plan to destroy high education in America.

All leading US universities depend on federal funding and tuition dollars from international students. They severely curtailed the former. Now they're eliminating the latter.
May 22, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
say it again:

4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities

ROI for NIH and NSF for local economies is conservatively 4x, often close to 10x

demolishing higher education is economic sabotage
There is a false dichotomy drawn between "the ivory tower" and "the real world," and I'm here to report that in a post-industrial society, your real-world economy absolutely hinges on the university.

University towns are factory towns. Universities drive economic activity, not the other way around.
May 18, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Hiiiiii, please check out “Chain Gang All-Stars” from your local library!
Kristi Noem has been working with the producer of “Duck Dynasty” to pitch a reality TV show—titled “The American”—where immigrants will compete in a string of challenges across the country “for the honor of fast-tracking their way to U.S. citizenship,” according to a new report.
Noem Plots Reality Show Where Migrants Fight for Citizenship
A Homeland Security official told the Daily Beast that the show is in the early stages of vetting, though approval has not been given—or denied.
www.thedailybeast.com
May 16, 2025 at 4:12 AM
Check this one out! Our daily diary study examined how virtual social interactions influenced youth mental health during COVID. Justice-involved youth saw strong enough benefits from virtual social contact to make up the "well-being gap" between JJ-involved and community youth.
New article alert w/ @caitcavanagh.bsky.social and others! In this daily diary study, we explored how virtual social interactions (i.e., via phone or online) affected the mood and mental health of justice-involved and community adolescents across the first year of the pandemic.

t.co/DxOa8NwMC0
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00938548251336784
t.co
May 9, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Dr. Cait Cavanagh
This is devastating. It will cause immense harm and make communities less safe. We know that youth justice programs like these benefit everyone. We condemn this cut to critical funds. imprintnews.org/justice/juve...
Trump Delivers Massive Blow to Youth Justice Programs | The Imprint
Trump administration cuts to federal grants threatens organizations with programs to prevent gun violence, protect runaways and more.
imprintnews.org
May 1, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Last week was Youth Violence Prevention Week! Here's an op-ed I wrote about violence prevention efforts in Michigan.

cj.msu.edu/news/2025-ca...
Preventing Youth Violence in Michigan | School of Criminal Justice | Michigan State University
For Youth Violence Prevention Week, Dr. Cait Cavanagh wrote this op-ed discussing preventing youth violence in Michigan.
cj.msu.edu
May 6, 2025 at 3:47 PM
🚨New article alert! Led by a team of 3 awesome doc students. You probably know I’m a big believer in family-level interventions for justice-involved youth. But, not all programs work for a given population. We evaluated a voluntary parenting program 🧵

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
May 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
🚨New article alert! Led by law student Ashtaan. Although success for youth on probation is often measured via recidivism, the goal of the JJS is rehabilitation. Are youths’ risks and needs actually being addressed while under court supervision? If so, for whom?🧵

journals.sagepub.com/eprint/CN3BZ...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
April 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Beautiful last day of class- my Family Law and Social Policy undergrads all shared what stuck with them most from the semester. It was so rewarding to hear their takeaways and how they will use this knowledge in other contexts.
April 23, 2025 at 3:15 PM