College of Education and Human Development

School of Social Work

People

Lynette M. Renner

  • Pronouns: she, her, hers

  • Professor
    Gamble-Skogmo Land Grant Chair in Child Welfare and Youth Policy
    Director of the PhD Program
    Director of Graduate Studies
    Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Family Violence

Family Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Child Maltreatment, Sexual Violence, Mental and Behavioral Health, Youth Development, Disclosure and Help-Seeking, System Responses to Violence

    DEGREES

    PhD: Social Welfare (minor: Educational Psychology-Quantitative Methods), University of Wisconsin-Madison 
    MSW: Social Work, University of Kentucky 
    BSW/BS: Social Work & Social and Behavioral Sciences (minor: Sociology), University of Mary

      AREAS OF INTEREST

      Family Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Child Maltreatment, Sexual Violence, Mental and Behavioral Health, Youth Development, Disclosure and Help-Seeking, System Responses to Violence

        BIOGRAPHY

        My research focuses on interpersonal violence occurring in home and school environments, including child maltreatment, adult intimate partner violence (IPV), children’s exposure to IPV, and peer victimization. My research encompasses three related areas: (1) the effects of multiple types of victimization on health and well-being, (2) help-seeking strategies and resilience, and (3) cross-system interventions and service provision within healthcare, child welfare, domestic violence, and civil legal service systems. I have been principal investigator on projects funded by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health (OWH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the University of Minnesota’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Office of Clinical Affairs, and Center for Urban and Regional Affairs. I teach doctoral courses on theory and model development and research practica, and an undergraduate course on intimate partner violence.

          PUBLICATIONS

          Renner, L.M. (in press). Women’s reports of suicidality as a result of intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

          Driessen, M.C., Renner, L.M., & Nightingale, S. (in press). Title IX coordinators’ perspectives on navigating political and social challenges. Journal of School Violence.

          Renner, L.M., Driessen, M.C., & Rittenour, G. (2026). Men’s perspectives on participating in a county-based domestic violence court. Violence Against Women, 32(9) 3174–3196.

          Easton, S.D., Kong, J., Renner, L.M., & McKetchnie, S.M. (2026). Long-term effects of child sexual abuse on physical health: A mixed-gender, population-based analysis of older adults. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 41(11-12) 3609–3629.

          Renner, L.M., Hartley, C.C., & Carter, K. (2026). It’s not all or nothing: Women’s differential use of help-seeking strategies in response to intimate partner violence. Journal of Family Violence, 41(1), 57-74.

          Amarikwa, L., Renner, L.M., Homer, N.A., Wai, K.M., Ludwig, C.A., Koo, E., Rahimy, E., Mruthyunjaya, P., Shriver, E.M., & Andrea L. Kossler, A.L. (2026). Ocular and orbital trauma correlated with an increased risk of mortality in female patients with a history of intimate partner violence. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 281, 223-232.

          Williams, A.H., Williams, A., Renner, L.M., PettyJohn, M., Cash, S., & Schwab-Reese, L. (2025). “I need to talk to someone...What do I do?”: Peer-to-peer disclosures of child maltreatment on social media. Journal of Family Violence, 40(8), 1535-1548.

          Schwab-Reese, L.M., Renner, L.M., Quang, D., Carlyle, K., Nair, I., Chase, K., & DeMaria, A.L. (2025). “if I stay silent, it doesn’t help anyone”: Understanding how young people use TikTok to talk about sexual violence victimization. Violence Against Women, 31(12-13), 3311-3329.

          Renner, L.M., & Driessen, M.C. (2023). Family violence content in baccalaureate and master’s-level social work programs. Journal of Social Work, 23(2), 243-264.

          Cohen, A.R., Renner, L.M., & Shriver, E.M. (2023). Case study: Screening and reporting orbital floor fractures in intimate partner violence. In C.R. Martin, V.R., Preedy, & V.B. Patel (Eds.). Handbook of anger, aggression, and violence: Causes, pathology and treatments (pp. 2935-2944). Springer.

          Renner, L.M., Piescher, K.N., & Mickelson, N.L. (2023). Academic outcomes among children who experienced or were exposed to physical abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(3-4), 2510-2533.

          Renner, L.M., & Hartley, C.C. (2022). Women’s perceptions of the helpfulness of strategies for coping with intimate partner violence. Journal of Family Violence, 37(4), 585-599.

          Renner, L.M., Driessen, M.C., & Lewis-Dmello, A. (2022). An evaluation of a parent group for survivors of intimate partner violence. Journal of Family Violence, 37(2), 247-259.

          Renner, L.M., Wang, Q., Logeais, M.E., & Clark, C.J. (2021). Health care providers’ readiness to identify and respond to intimate partner violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19-20), 9507-9534.

          Renner, L.M., Hartley, C.C., & Driessen, M.C. (2021). Provider, caretaker, nurturer, hero: Perceptions of parenting changes among women who experienced intimate partner violence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(9), 2191-2203.

          Teufel, J., Renner, L.M., Gallo, M., & Hartley, C.C. (2021). Income and poverty status among women experiencing intimate partner violence: A positive social return on investment from legal aid services. Law & Society Review, 55(3), 405-428.

          Renner, L.M., & Hartley, C.C. (2021). Psychological well-being among women who have experienced intimate partner violence and received civil legal services. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(7-8), 3688-3709.

          Renner, L.M., Schwab-Reese, L.M., Coppola, E., & Boel-Studt, S. (2020). The contribution of interpersonal violence victimization types to psychological distress among youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106, 104493.

            PRESENTATIONS

            Renner, L.M. (2026, July). Writing for/submitting to peer-reviewed journals. Workshop presented at the Violence Prevention Research Conference. Portsmouth, NH.

            Renner, L.M. & Hanson, S. (2026, June). Screening for and responding to intimate partner violence and perinatal mental health. Invited presentation at The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) Annual Meeting. Washington, DC.

            Driessen, M.C., & Renner, L.M. (2025, June). Increasing social work knowledge and readiness to respond to interpersonal violence. Oral presentation at the European Conference on Social Work Education. Salzburg, Austria.

            Driessen, M.C., & Renner, L.M. (2025, January). Collegiate Title IX coordinators’ experiences of navigating changing social and political climates and the impact on campus sexual misconduct. Flash Talk presented at the Annual Society for Social Work and Research Conference. Seattle, WA.

            Driessen, M.C., & Renner, L.M. (2024, July). Title IX coordinators’ experiences of navigating changing social and political climates: The Impact on Campus sexual misconduct. Paper presented at the Violence Prevention Research Conference. Portsmouth, NH. 

            Renner, L.M. (2024, January). Intimate partner violence and suicidality among women: How is the connection measured? Poster presented at the Annual Society for Social Work and Research Conference. Washington, DC.

            Renner, L.M. (2023, September). Understanding women’s attributions for intimate partner violence. Paper presented at the European Conference on Domestic Violence. Reykjavik, Iceland. 

            Renner, L.M. (2023, June). Family violence content in U.S. baccalaureate and master’s-level social work programs. Paper presented at the European Conference on Social Work Education. Porto, Portugal. 

            Renner, L.M., & Driessen, M.C. (2020, October). Social work licensure boards and educational needs related to intimate partner violence. Paper presented virtually at the 66th Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

            Lynette M. Renner, PhD, director of the School of Social Work PhD program, smiles in a professional portrait wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue suit jacket.