Sam Rodriguez

Sam Rodriguez

Email: snro@unm.edu ; srodriguez@mrn.org
Program of Study: Cognition, Brain, and Behavior
Advisor: Dr. Kent A. Kiehl
Research Area: Forensic Psychology
Entered Program: 2020
Expected Graduation Date:Master’s Thesis: Identifying Psychosocial and Neural Correlates Associated with Future Homicide in a Sample of Incarcerated Boys
Links: Google Scholar ; CV

Research Interests: I am interested in understanding risk and protective factors associated with future antisocial behavior, particularly homicide. I am also fascinated by psychopathy and empathic deficits in offenders, broadly. Ultimately, I aim to better elucidate underlying mechanisms of crime in order to inform potential individualized treatments aimed at reducing risk for future violent offending.

Selected Publications:

Maurer, J. M., Gullapalli, A. R., Milillo, M. M., Allen, C. H., Rodriguez, S. N., Edwards, B. G., Anderson, N. E., Harenski, C. L., & Kiehl, K. A. (2025). Adolescents with elevated psychopathic traits are associated with an increased risk for premature mortality. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 53, 17-28

Allen, C. H., Gullapalli, A., Milillo, M., Ulrich, D., Rodriguez, S., Maurer, J. M., Aharoni, E., Anderson, N. E., Harenski, C. L., Vincent, G. M., Kiehl, K. A. (2024). Psychopathy scores predict recidivism in high-risk youth: A five-year follow-up study. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 52, 1089–1103

Rodriguez, S. N., Gullapalli, A. R., Tirrell, P. S., Maurer, J. M., Egala, U., Edwards, B. G., ... & Kiehl, K. A. (2023). Automated patterns of head dynamics are associated with psychopathic traits in incarcerated women. Personality and Individual Differences, 200, 111904.

Rodriguez, S. N., Gullapalli, A. R., Maurer, J. M., Tirrell, P. S., Egala, U., Anderson, N. E., Harenski, C. L., & Kiehl, K. A. (2022). Quantitative head dynamics associated with callous-unemotional traits in incarcerated youth. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 44 (4), 1054-1063.

Maurer, J.M., Tirrell, P.S., Anderson, N.E., Rodriguez, S., Caldwell, M., & Van Rybroek, G., & Kiehl, K.A. (2021). Dimensions of impulsivity related to psychopathic traits and homicidal behavior among incarcerated male youth offenders. Psychiatry Research, 303, 114094.