About

Dr. Lauren Norman is an Associate Professor in the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She has a B.S. degree in Psychology and a M.A. in Sociology from Middle Tennessee State University. She went on to the University of Central Florida where she received a Ph.D. in Sociology with a minor area of concentration in substance use and misuse and a major area of concentration in crime and deviance. She has taught the following courses at UNCP: Sociology of Drug Use, Sociology of Emotions, Social Problems, Sociology of Film, Criminology, Sex Crimes, Social Deviance, Women and Crime (WE), Introduction to Sociology, Social Research, and Sociological Theory.

Her research focuses on two areas. First, she has published several articles on substance use among adolescents and young adults. Her research on substance use has focused primarily on prescription stimulant misuse among undergraduates, though she has also conducted studies on other substances including marijuana and ecstasy use. Second, her research also examines emotions from a sociological perspective. This research has focused on undergraduate women’s understandings of love and romance as well as the commodification of emotions related to webcamming.

Outside of academia, Dr. Norman enjoys spending time with her husband and their two pets. She also enjoys camping, attending concerts and festivals, and traveling.