Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

BA, University of Richmond; MA, PhD, University of Maryland
Email: lgdykstra@plymouth.edu

Office: Mary Lyon Hall, room 034E
Phone: (603) 535-3324

Spring office hours:
Tuesday & Thursday 8:30am – 9:30am & 1:00pm – 2:00pm
or by appointment

About Professor Dykstra

Laura Dykstra is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Plymouth State University.  She received her BA in Criminal Justice and Psychology at the University of Richmond and her MA and PhD in Criminology/Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, College Park.  Her research interests include drug-related crime, mental health, research methodology, and violent crime and victimization, especially among young adults.  Both her teaching and her research take a broad inter-disciplinary perspective, drawing from fields of medicine, psychology, public health, and sociology. Before joining the faculty, Professor Dykstra worked for the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the University of Maryland on the College Life Study, a prospective longitudinal study of health-related behaviors of young adults funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Selected publications/presentations/exhibitions

• Garnier-Dykstra, L.M., Caldeira, K.M., Vincent, K.B., O’Grady, K.E. & Arria, A.M. (2012). Nonmedical use of prescription stimulants during college: 4-year trends in exposure opportunity, use, motives, and sources.  Journal of American College Health, 60(3), 226-234.
• Garnier-Dykstra, L.M., Caldeira, K.M., Vincent, K.B., O’Grady, K.E. & Arria, A.M. (2012). Examining the relationships between nonmedical use of prescription drugs and victimization. Presented at the American Society of Criminology Conference, Chicago, IL.
• Garnier-Dykstra, L.M., Pinchevsky, G.M., Caldeira, K.M., Vincent, K.V. & Arria, A.M. (2010). Self-reported adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms among college students. Journal of American College Health, 59(2), 133-136.
• Garnier L.M., Arria A.M., Caldeira K.M., Vincent K.B., O’Grady K.E. & Wish E.D. (2010). Sharing and selling of prescription medications in a college student sample. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 71(3), 262-269.
• Garnier L.M., Arria, A.M., Caldeira K.M., Vincent K.B., O’Grady K.E. & Wish E.D. (2009).  Nonmedical prescription analgesic use and concurrent alcohol consumption among college students.  American Journal for Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 35(5), 334-338.

Courses Taught

CJ 1020     Criminal Justice in Action
CJ 1500     Profiling Criminal Behavior
CJ 3260     Data Analysis for Criminal Justice
CJ 2080     Crime and Criminals
CJ 3270     Explaining Crime
CJ 3515     Women and Crime
CJ 3401     Research Methods for Criminal Justice
CJ 4805     Criminal Justice Seminar