Keith Cruise

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Keith Cruise

Incoming Director & Professor of Psychology

Contact

Address
CCFL 206 South 13th Street Suite 1000 RM 1038
Lincoln, NE 68588-0227
Phone
402-472-3479 On-campus 2-3479
Email
kcruise4@unl.edu

Keith Cruise is a licensed clinical psychologist who conducts research on the clinical-forensic assessment of adolescents experiencing youth justice systems involvement. For over 25 years, he has worked as a clinician, consultant, and researcher collaborating with many state juvenile justice systems and national organizations supporting juvenile justice reforms. His work is focused on developing, implementing, and sustaining evidence-informed policies and practices (screening, assessment, case planning decision-tools, and interventions) that support system-level, trauma-responsive practices for youth and families experiencing multi-system involvement (child welfare and juvenile justice).

Education

  • University of North Teaxs, PhD (Psychology)
  • University of Nebraska, MLS (Master of Legal Studies)
  • University of Nebraska-Lincoln, BA (Psychology)

Areas of Interest: 

  • Adolescent mental health and delinquency risk factors among adolescents experiencing multi-system involvement (child welfare and youth justice)

Selected Presentations & Publications: 

  • Ford, J. D., Kerig, P. K., & Cruise, K. R. (in press). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and complex trauma-related disorders among youth involved in juvenile justice: What works. In C.M. Langton & J.B. Worling (Eds.), What works with youth who have offended: Theory, research and practice.  Wiley-Blackwell.
  • Kleeven, A. T. H., Hilterman, E. L. B., De Vries Robbé, M., Popma, A., Cruise, K. R., & Mulder, E. A. (2025). Towards clinically meaningful subtyping of youth with violent behavior: Application of latent profile analysis to a risk-strengths based risk assessment model. Psychology, Crime & Law, 31(9), 1077–1101. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2024.2332926 
  • Weinberger, E. C., Cruise, K. R., Auguste, E. E., & Samuels, J. K. (2023). The Structured Trauma-Related Experiences and Symptoms Screener (STRESS): Assessing factor structure and clinical utility in a juvenile justice sample. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy, 15(Suppl 1), S143–S153. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001310 
  • Feingold, Z. R., Cruise, K. R., & Glover, A. (2023). Assessment and treatment of adolescents and emerging adults in jails.  In V. Barber Rioja, A Garcia-Mansilla, B. Subedi, & A. Batastini, (Eds.), Handbook of mental health assessment and treatment in jails (pp. 194-201).  New York, NY:  Oxford
  • Auguste, E. E., Cruise, K. R., & Jimenez, M. C. (2021). The effects of microaggressions on depression in young adults of color: Investigating the impact of traumatic event exposures and trauma reactions. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 34(5), 985–994. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22675 
  • Cruise, K. R., Howard, M. L., Pickens, I. B., & Halladay-Goldman, J. (2019).  Trauma-informed Juvenile Court Self-Assessment.  National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), Los Angeles, CA. 
  • Ford, J. D., Cruise, K. R., Grasso, D., & Holloway, E. D. (2018). A study of the impact of screening for poly-victimization in juvenile justice:  The rocky road to a successful investigation in the real world.  Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33, 810-831. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517744844
  • Pickens, I. B., Howard, M. L., Halladay-Goldman, J., Cruise, K. R. and Watson, K. R. (2019), Development and pilot of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Trauma-Informed Juvenile Court Self-Assessment. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 70, 31-54. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12135 
  • Holloway, E. D., Cruise, K. R., Morin, S. L., Kaufman, H., & Steele, R. D. (2018). Juvenile probation officers' evaluation of traumatic event exposures and traumatic stress symptoms as responsivity factors in risk assessment and case planning. Law and Human Behavior, 42(4), 369–384. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000283
  • Holloway, E. D., Cruise, K. R., Downs, S. M., Monahan, P. O., & Aalsma, M. C. (2017). Juvenile probation officer self-assessed mental health competency as a predictor of case management practices. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 44(4), 534–546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-016-0734-5