Research & Publications
Updated: 4 minutes ago
HUMAN SERVICES / YOUTH PROTECTION / APPLIED RESEARCH
Research that informs stronger practice
Explore scholarly work by Heath N. Landress, DHS, PhD, on child protection, residential administration, youth online exploitation, digital grooming, nihilistic violence aesthetics, and research methods.
Browse by publication type. Expand a section to see the full titles, publication details, and source links. External research links open in a new tab.
Peer-Reviewed Publications (2)
Published journal articles. Follow each article link for the publisher’s record and access options.
The Youth Online Exploitation–Extremism Interface: A Conceptual Framework for Anti-Trafficking Identification and Digital Child Protection
Journal of Human Trafficking (2026), 1–9
Publisher access conditions may apply. An earlier repository version is listed under Preprints & Working Papers.
Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics in Public Online Communication
Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, 20 (2026), 1–17
Read the open-access journal article
Doctoral Research (2)
Completed doctoral scholarship. Repository and dissertation-database records are distinct from journal articles.
Child Protective Services Workers' Decision Making and Risk Management
Doctor of Human Services doctoral study, Walden University (2024)
Identifying Symbolic Modeling of Grooming Precursors in Social Media
PhD dissertation, Walden University (2026); ProQuest Order No. 32791504
View ProQuest dissertation record
A preview is available; full text may require library access or purchase.
White Papers & Open Research (3)
Research-informed and openly shared work, kept separate from peer-reviewed journal publications.
Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics in Public Online Communication: A Conceptual Framework for Interpreting Hybridized Violent Signaling
Research-informed white paper, Zenodo (2026)
The Youth Online Exploitation–Extremism Interface: A Conceptual Framework for Anti-Trafficking Identification and Digital Child Protection
White paper, Version 1, Zenodo (2026)
Identifying Symbolic Modeling of Grooming Precursors in Social Media
Version 1, Zenodo (2026)
Preprints & Working Papers (11)
Working and repository versions are not presented as accepted journal articles. Listed versions may differ from later revisions.
Context-Calibrated OSINT Content Analysis: A Baseline-Referenced Method for High-Risk Online Research
SSRN preprint, August 20, 2026
SSRN may show an access or browser-verification screen.
Developing a Source-Verified Dictionary of Nihilistic Violent Extremism: Methods, Taxonomy, Contextual Boundaries, and Research Implications
SSRN preprint, August 29, 2026
SSRN may show an access or browser-verification screen.
NVE Dictionary
Zenodo, August 28, 2026
The Youth Online Exploitation–Extremism Interface: A Conceptual Framework for Anti-Trafficking Identification and Digital Child Protection
Repository version, Zenodo (2026)
Testing the Aesthetic-to-Risk Framework: A Protocol for Qualitative Multimedia Content Analysis of Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics in Public Reddit Posts
SSRN preprint, May 13, 2026
SSRN may show an access or browser-verification screen.
Repository title: Pilot Testing the Aesthetic-to-Risk Framework: A Qualitative Multimedia Content Analysis Protocol for Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics in Public Reddit Posts. The title above is retained from the supplied publication record.
The SAFE Milieu Framework: A Conceptual Architecture for Trauma-Informed Administration in Specialized Residential Care
Version 1, Zenodo (2026)
Documenting Youth-Facing Online Harm in Nihilistic Violent Extremism: A Secondary Qualitative Document Analysis of Public Incident Records
Working paper / preprint (2026)
SSRN may show an access or browser-verification screen.
Surfacing and Ranking the Forces That Shape Frontline Practice: A Step-by-Step Force Field Analysis Within a Quasi-Delphi Design for Assessing Risk Assessment and Decision-Making Among Child Protective Services Workers
Version 1, Zenodo (2026)
The Practitioner-Sourced Force Field (PSFF) Framework: A Conceptual Model of Dual-Valence Forces in Child Welfare Decision-Making
Version 1, Zenodo (2026)
Analytically Separable, Empirically Entangled: A Structural Validation of the Youth Online Exploitation–Extremism Interface Framework Using the PERIL Nihilistic Violent Extremism Tracker
Zenodo (2026)
Identifying Symbolic Modeling of Grooming Precursors in Social Media
SocArXiv preprint (2026)
Manuscripts Under Review (8)
Status is reported in the author’s September 2026 publication record. Under review does not mean accepted or published; no submission links are invented.
Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics in Public Online Communication: A Theoretical Framework for Interpreting Hybridized Violent Signaling
under review, Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression
Surfacing and Ranking the Forces That Shape Frontline Practice: A Step-by-Step Force Field Analysis Within a Quasi-Delphi Design for Assessing Risk Assessment and Decision-Making Among Child Protective Services Workers
under review, Journal of Public Child Welfare
Using Force Field Analysis to Strengthen Child Welfare Risk Assessment: A Practice Framework for Supervisors and Administrators
under review, CWLA
The SAFE Milieu Framework: A Conceptual Architecture for Trauma-Informed Administration in Specialized Residential Care
under review, Developmental Child Welfare
Analytically Separable, Empirically Entangled: A Structural Validation of the Youth Online Exploitation–Extremism Interface Framework Using the PERIL Nihilistic Violent Extremism Tracker
under review, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology
Identifying Symbolic Modeling of Grooming Precursors in Social Media
under review, Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences
Developing a Source-Verified Dictionary of Nihilistic Violent Extremism: Methods, Taxonomy, Contextual Boundaries, and Research Implications
under review, Perspectives on Terrorism
Platform Aesthetics and Relational-Risk Cues in Short-Form Relationship Advice
under review, American Journal of Qualitative Research
Public Scholarship (1)
Contributions for practitioner and public audiences, distinguished from peer-reviewed journal articles.
Between Meme Culture and Warning Behaviour: Interpreting Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics in Online Extremist-Adjacent Spaces
Global Network on Extremism & Technology (GNET), 2026
Publication categories follow the author-supplied September 2026 record. Link destinations have been checked against repository or publisher records; publisher restrictions and institutional-access requirements are not website errors.
Bring research into your organization
Discuss an evidence briefing, professional workshop, or program-evaluation project tailored to your organization. Research informs the work; it does not establish that every consulting service or training has been independently validated.
Research is scholarly and educational. Conceptual frameworks are not validated diagnostic, screening, or violence-prediction instruments. No clinical care, psychological evaluation, legal advice, private investigation, or emergency response is provided.
Publication record: September 2026.
Comments