Samantha Francois is a developmental scientist with expertise in adolescent development, structural violence, and anti-racist research. As an interdisciplinary, community-engaged scholar, Francois uses systems perspectives and critical race theory to understand the intersections of individual, community, and structural factors that impact development in Black and African American adolescents and emerging adults. She also conducts intervention research on youth-led organizing and activism as violence prevention strategies. Francois uses community-based, participatory, and action research frameworks to conduct mixed-methods research studies with marginalized and oppressed communities with the goals of health equity, social transformation, and community liberation. Dr. Francois was recently co-executive director of Tulane University’s Violence Prevention Institute and co-director of the Center for Youth Equity, a CDC Center of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention. Francois has a doctorate in psychological sciences from Tulane University.
Samantha Francois
Associate Professor, Psychology
- About
- Scholarly and creative works
- Awards and grants
Degrees
- Ph.D. in Psychological Sciences, Tulane University, 2009
- M.S. in Psychological Sciences, Tulane University, 2007
- M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction, Xavier University, 2001
- B.S. in Psychology, Smith College, 1998
Affiliated Department
Scholarly and creative works
-
Handbook of Gun Violence
Chapter: Place-based approaches to firearm violence prevention2025 -
Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Teachers: The Impact of Race and Years of Teaching Experiences
Published in School Mental Health2025 -
Establishing the Validity of a Cultural Assessment of Suicide Risks in Black Adolescents
Published in Mental Health Science2025 -
Expanding the framework of childhood adversity: Structural violence and aggression in childhood
Published in Child Protection and Practice2025 -
How to Empower Youth Voices in Violence and Injury Prevention Research
Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury ResearchChapel Hill, NCApril2024 -
Community Violence-Causes and Impacts
Conference to End ViolenceLancaster County, PAMarch2024Sponsored by CHI St. Joseph Children’s Hospital -
Advancing Anti-Racist Research and Scholarship
February2024Sponsored by Tulane University, A.B. Freeman School of Business -
Social capital and changes of psychologic distress during early stage of COVID-19 in New orleans
Published in Scientific reports2024Vol. 14Issue #1 -
A Qualitative Exploration of the Built Environment as a Key Mechanism of Safety and Social Cohesion for Youth in High-Violence Communities
Published in Journal of Urban Health2024 -
The role of firearm and police violence exposure in youth firearm beliefs and access
Published in Youth & Society2024 -
Spencer’s phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST): Charting its origin and impact
Published in The American psychologist2023Vol. 78Issue #4 -
Perceived parenting practices associated with African American adolescents’ future expectations
Published in Advances in child development and behavior2023Vol. 64 -
The influence of racial violence in neighborhoods and schools on the psycho-behavioral outcomes in adolescence
Published in Research in human development2023Vol. 20Issue #1-2 -
In it Together: Sense of Community and Psychologic Distress During COVID-19
Published in Research square2023 -
Structural and Social Determinants of Firearm Violence
National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm-Related HarmsChicago, ILNovember2023 -
Nothing About Us Without Us: Current State and View into the Future of Violence Prevention
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Pediatric Global Health ConferencePhiladelphia, PAOctober2023 -
Universities Redefining Service Learning and Community Engagement in a “Race Neutral” Milieu
International Association of Service Learning and Community Engagement ConferenceNew Orleans, LAOctober2023 -
Navigating COVID-19 and racial trauma as a Black student at predominantly White institutions
Published in American journal of community psychology2023 -
Perceived support as a buffer for Black mothers’ past and current exposure to community violence
Published in Journal of Family Violence -
The Salience of Social Support for Firearm Behaviors in the United States
Published in Injury Prevention -
Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) in Action: A Protocol for Addressing Youth Violence and Social Inequities in New Orleans
Published in Prevention Science -
Exposures to Community & Police Violence and Activism Identification through Sociopolitical Development in Adolescence
Published in Journal of Research on Adolescence -
Relationship Between Neighborhood Over-policing and Adolescents’ Engaged Activism and the Moderating Influence of Direct Exposure to Police Violence
Published in Journal of Youth and Adolescence
Awards and grants
-
The Center for Youth Equity: A Community-Centered Approach to Youth Violence Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Sep. 30, 2023 – Sep. 30, 2026 -
“We are worthy of being heard and included”: Engagement of youth voice in the evaluation of trauma-informed schools
Spencer Foundation
Jan. 1, 2023 – Dec. 31, 2024