JENNIFER COX, PHD
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

Department: Clinical Psychology
Subarea: Psychology and Law
Office: Gordon Palmer 255A
E-Mail: jennifer.m.cox@ua.edu
Pronouns: she/her/hers

​FUN FACTS

• Director of the Southern Behavioral Health and Law Initiative
• ​Co-Director of the Alabama Forensic Assessment and Research Evaluation project
• Cited over 800 times; h-index: 18​
• Mother of three boys
• Runner/exercise enthusiast 

RESEARCH

My research explores factors that influence individual decision making within the context of the criminal legal system. I am interested in how individual differences, including personality traits and demographic factors, such as gender and sexual orientation, impact the legal decision maker’s judgments and ultimate decisions. In addition, I explore how evidence regarding psychological constructs (e.g., psychopathy) and psychological assessments are considered by these legal decision makers. 

Given the high stakes of many criminal cases, this research makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of the factors that contribute to legal outcomes. A more complete understanding of the elements that drive decision making within the courtroom may pave the way for addressing the differential treatment of defendants due to extra-legal considerations.

In 2020 I co-founded (along with my colleague, Dr. Lauren Kois), the Southern Behavioral Health and Law Initiative (SBHL, formally the Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health Initiative). SBHL brings together researchers across the UA campus in areas related to criminal justice, policing, forensic mental health and health disparities, and public policy. This group also works closely with community stakeholders to develop creative solutions to address barriers to mental health treatment for justice-involved individuals. 

CLINICAL WORK

I am a clinical psychologist licensed by the state of Alabama, where I maintain a private practice conducting psycholegal evaluations (e.g., competence to stand trial, mental state at the time of the offense, mitigation of sentencing, violence risk). I also supervise graduate students conducting pre-employment, post-offer risk assessments for local law enforcement as well as graduate students conducting psycholegal evaluations for the UA Criminal Law Clinic and Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility.  

EDUCATION

I received my BS in Psychology from the University of Mary Washington in 2007 and MS in Psychology (forensic emphasis) from Drexel University in 2009. In 2014, I received my PhD in Clinical Psychology from Texas A&M University. My graduate studies primarily centered around the assessment of psychopathy in forensic contexts and effects of psychopathy evidence on legal decision making. I completed a Clinical Psychology Internship at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.