Summary
Current Projects
Publications
Under Review
Papers In-Process

Summary

My research examines methods to strengthen democracy and build support for policies that advance racial, economic, and social justice. I am particularly interested in how community organizing tactics and message frames can effectively build support for equity policies and how discussing systemic racism, sharing personal stories, and activating pro-social emotions can shape pro-equity attitudes. Additionally, I explore how interventions integrated within social service delivery can strengthen democratic engagement. I have used a variety of methods in my work and am especially drawn to field and survey experiments.

My recent work has focused on interrogating methods to understand and influence attitudes towards anti-carceral policies. Specifically, I have focused on the use of deep canvassing and race-class narratives as methods to change policy opinions and attitudes. Scroll down for a list of publications.

Current Work

My current work focuses on four areas:

1. The use of narrative-based video messages to build support for transgender youth access to healthcare and sports.
2. The effects of race- and class-based messages on support for differentially racialized racial equity policies—and potential moderators and mediators of those effects across ethnoracial and partisan groups.
3. The integration of social service provision and civic engagement to strengthen democratic engagement among race-class subjugated communities.
4. The assessment of anti-racism competencies and the effects of feminist, anti-racist pedagogical practices in social work education.

Publications

Brock-Petroshius, K., & Gilens, M. (2025). Race- and Class-Based Messaging and Anti-Carceral Policy Support. The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1017/rep.2025.10032

Brock-Petroshius, K., & Gilens, M.(2025). Can Deep Canvassing Promote Anti-Carceral Attitudes? A Field Experiment. [Special Issue: How Can Psychologists Walk the Walk to Promote Racial Justice? Situating Racial Justice Intervention Research within the Translational Research Framework] Journal of Social Issues, 81(2), e70012. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.70012

Brock-Petroshius, K. (2024) Race Talk to Change Carceral Attitudes: A Field Experiment on Deep Canvass Organizing.” Social Service Review, 98(4). https://doi.org/10.1086/732823.

Brock-Petroshius, K., Keum, B. (2024) Carceral Justification: Scale Development and Initial Validation. Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work, 1(2), Article 2. https://apsw-ojs-uh.tdl.org/apsw/article/view/15

Brock-Petroshius, K. (2023) Dangerous, Deserving, or Harmed: Understanding the Formation of Anti-Carceral Policy Attitudes among Urban, Liberal Voters. Journal of Policy Practice and Research 4, 324-348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42972-023-00093-6

Abrams, L.S., Garcia-Perez, J., Brock-Petroshius, K., Applegarth, M.D. (2023) Racism, Colorblindness, and Social Work Education: An Exploratory Study of California MSW Student Beliefs and Experiences. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 14(2), 385-410. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/714830

Brock-Petroshius, K., Wray-Lake, L. (2022) Organizing through Stories: The Role of Emotions in Increasing Support for Decarceration. Journal of Community Practice (2022): 1-21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2022.2033376

Brock-Petroshius, K., Garcia Perez, J., Gross, M., Abrams, A. (2022). Colorblind Attitudes, Empathy, and Shame: Preparing White Students for Anti-Racist Social Work Practice. Journal of Social Work Education, 1-15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2022.2045233

Brock-Petroshius, K., Mikell, D., Washington, Sr., D.M., James, K. (2022). From Social Justice to Abolition: Living Up to Social Work’s Grand Challenge of Eliminating Racism. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 1-15. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15313204.2022.2070891

Under Review

Diebold, J. and Brock-Petroshius, K., The Collective Courage of Deep Canvassing: A Good Challenge Made Possible by Community (October 10, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4982518 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4982518

Papers In-Process

Brock-Petroshius, K., Wray-Lake, L. Addressing the structural roots of racism: Using field experiments to assess community and policy practice interventions.

Brock-Petroshius, K., Who Deserves a Safety Net? Public Opinion on Universal Basic Income in Los Angeles County.

Brock-Petroshius, K., Kidd, C. The Compassion Gap: Attitudes on Housing and Homeless Rights.