Assistant Professor

About

  • Office Hours:

    Tuesdays 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM or by appointment

  • Role:

    Faculty

  • Position:

    • Assistant Professor

  • Concentration:

    • Criminology and Criminal Justice
    • Victimization
    • Sociocultural Factors
    • U.S. Latinas/os/xs
    • Public Perceptions

  • Department:

    • Sociology

  • Education:

    • PhD (Criminology), University of South Florida

  • Curriculum Vitae:

Biography

Dr. Vanessa Centelles is an assistant professor of sociology at Colorado State University. She earned her PhD in Criminology from the University of South Florida in 2024.

Dr. Centelles' research uses an interdisciplinary approach and intersectional framework to explore how sociocultural factors influence criminal behaviors, victimization experiences, and perceptions of crime. Her work largely centers around marginalized and minoritized adult persons, with a focus on individuals who identify as Hispanic and Latino/x/e. She has experience with an array of methodologies and analytical strategies such as secondary data analysis, content analysis, quasi-experimental design, regression techniques, and structural equation modeling. Notably, her expertise and passion lie in survey methodology and primary data collection. Her dissertation used primary survey data to examine (1) how processes such as acculturation and discrimination relate to intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization experiences and definitions of IPV, (2) the (in)variance of these processes by race and generational status, and (3) the role of resiliency in moderating these relationships.

Her published scholarship has appeared in highly recognized and specialized journals including American Journal of Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Behavior, and Social Media + Society, among other outlets. Mostly recently, she was recognized as a Ruth D. Peterson Fellow by the American Society of Criminology.

Publications

Selected publications:

Powers, R.A., Burckley, J.D., & Centelles, V. (forthcoming). The legality of labor and perceptions of deservingness of rights and services for sex workers. Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Bleeker, K., Powers, R.A., & Centelles, V. (2023). “If we can change the culture, I hope we won’t need to say me too”: Disclosures of sexual victimization as a form of social activism. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 48(5), 1224–1244. [Article link].

Powers, R.A., Centelles. V., & Williams, J. (2023). Student-athlete male-perpetrated sexual assault against men: racial disparities in perceptions of culpability and punitiveness. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 48(4), 984–1004. [Article link].

Centelles, V., Powers, R.A. (2023). An examination of acculturation, ethnic identity, discrimination, and offending among U.S. Hispanic persons. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 50(8), 1209–1228. [Article link].

Powers, R.A., Burckley, J.D., & Centelles, V. (2023). Sanctioning sex work: Examining generational differences and attitudinal correlates in policy preferences for legalization. Journal of Sex Research, 60(6), 903–918. [Article link].

Centelles, V., Powers, R.A. (2023). Sociocultural factors and offending among a nationally representative sample of US Hispanic men and women: A sex-specific analysis. Crime & Delinquency. [Article link].

Courses

  • SOC 358: Punishment and Society