Dr. Nick Athey
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology
Nicholas Athey, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of La Verne. Dr. Athey uses a mixed–methods approach to understand social phenomena and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various policy decisions. Dr. Athey has research and teaching expertise in the areas of drug policy, political discourse, substance–using populations, illicit markets, and the study of criminal networks. His recent research appears in Sociological Inquiry Contemporary Drug Problems, Journal of Drug Issues, Global Crime, Criminal Law Bulletin, and Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy.
Areas of expertise:
Drug policy, Political discourse, Substance use, Illicit markets, Criminal networks
Methodological approaches:
Social network analysis, policy evaluation, and advanced quantitative and qualitative methods
Proficiencies:
Microsoft Office, Nvivo, R, SPSS, SAS, Python
Publications
Athey, N. & Newhart, M. (2024). Cultivating choice: Determinants of home cannabis growing
among legal users in the United States. Sociological Inquiry, 95(2), 288-314. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12636
Athey, N. (2024). Cannabis-related political discourse on Twitter: A mixed methods approach.
Journal of Drug Issues. dot: https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042624129091
Athey, N. (2024). Parenting adolescent and young adult children who use cannabis for
educational success and well-being. In A. Gamez. (Ed.) Parenting for Educational Success
and Wellbeing. IGI Global.
Link to publication: https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/navigating-the-journey/346489
Athey, N, Boyd, N., & Cohen, E. (2017). Becoming A Medical Marijuana User: Reflections on
Becker’s Trilogy-Learning Techniques, Experiencing Effects and Perceiving Those Effects
as Enjoyable. Contemporary Drug Problems, 44(3), 212-231.
Athey, N. (2016). Organized Crime Syndicates. In F.F Wherry & J.G. Golson (Eds.), The Sage
Encyclopedia of Economics and Society. Sage Publishing.
Athey, N. & Bouchard, M. (2013). The BALCO Scandal: The Social Structure of a Steroid
Distribution Network. Global Crime, 14(2-3), 216-237.
Athey, N., Bouchard, M. Decorte, T., Asmussen, V.F., & Hakkarainen, P. (2013). Cannabis
Cultivation and Detection: A Comparative Study of Belgium, Finland, and Denmark.
Drugs:Education, Prevention and Policy, 20(3), 203-215.
Athey, N. & Morrow, W. (2012). Sociology of Organized. In W. Miller & J.g. Golson
(Eds.), The social history of crime and punishment in America. Sage Publishing.
Morrow, W., & Athey, N. (2012). Edwin H. Sutherland. In W. Miller & J.G. Golson (Eds.),
The social history of crime and punishment in America. Sage Publishing
Athey, N. & Fredella, H.F. (2008). Problems with Curbing Illicit Use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs.
Criminal Law Bulletin, 44(6), 984-994.
To explore the scholarship and creative works of University of La Verne faculty, please visit the Research Works profiles hosted by Wilson Library.
Is this your profile? Request profile updates.