Tammy Anderson

Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice University of Delaware

  • Newark DE

Professor Anderson's work focuses on the sociology of deviance, substance abuse, criminology and social problems.

Contact

University of Delaware

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Biography

Tammy L. Anderson, Ph.D. is a Professor in the University of Delaware’s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. She has published numerous books, including Understanding Deviance: Connecting Classical and Contemporary Perspectives (Routledge), Rave Culture: The Alteration and Decline of a Philadelphia Music Scene (Temple University Press), Sex, Drugs, and Death (Routledge), and Neither Villain nor Victim: Empowerment and Agency among Women Substance Abusers (Rutgers University Press), 50+ peer-reviewed articles, and 20+ other published papers, which showcase her expertise in substance abuse, the opioid epidemic, deviance, crime, culture, gender and social control. Professor Anderson’s research has received more than $2 million in support from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Drug Abuse, National Institute of Justice, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Association of State Controlled Substance Authorities, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Centers for Disease Control and the University of Delaware. Anderson is the founder of the HeNN (Help Near & Now) smartphone app, which is a GIS-based locator of services and events for substance abuse prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery in the Mid-Atlantic region. Anderson has held leadership positions in her home department, the College of Arts & Sciences, and at the university level. She has served on the editorial boards of numerous scientific peer-reviewed journals, including Sociology Compass, Sociological Forum, Sociological Quarterly, Feminist Criminology, and Adiciones. Recently, Anderson’s service and leadership expand beyond the university and academy to important state-level commissions and private-sector boards that do work on substance abuse and the opioid epidemic. In these efforts, Anderson’s role is to advise best practices based on scientific research.

Industry Expertise

Beverages - Alcoholic

Areas of Expertise

Substance Abuse
Opioid Epidemic
Criminology
Social Problems
Deviance
Identity

Media Appearances

Delaware's overdose rate has remained high through the pandemic, comparable to recent years

Delaware Public Media  online

2020-08-13

Prof. Tammy Anderson is Associate Director at the Center for Drug and Health Studies at the University of Delaware. Her team is studying seasonal variations in overdoses statewide. She says it’s still too early to tell if the COVID pandemic is fueling the high overdose rate, but there is reason to speculate. “It is true that if we’re socially isolating and we’re staying at home, it may be that there are fewer people to revive those that overdose and there might be lesser access to naloxone than there was previously, before COVID,” said Anderson.

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Delaware app helps people locate nearby substance use help

WHYY  online

2019-08-05

“HeNN gives people a tool to reach out to others, OK, to say for themselves, to find the help they need and to refer others to treatment,” said UD professor Tammy Anderson, who also heads up the university’s Center for Drug and Health Studies on the Newark campus. “To say, ‘Hey, you need education about your son, who is misusing opioids? Here’s where you can find those services.’”

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UD professor mapping Delaware's opioid crisis

WDDE  online

2018-11-12

UD Sociology and Criminal Justice Professor Tammy Anderson is Associate Director of the Center for Drug and Health Studies. She says she started DOMIP to spotlight the distribution of the opioid problem in Delaware. “I think sometimes we believe, or we just don’t even think about, that when problems hit that they hit equally in places, or we hear about a problem in one area and we tend to think that’s the definition of the problem,” said Anderson.

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Articles

Feasibility of a Novel COVID-19 Telehealth Care Management Program Among Individuals Receiving Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: Analysis of a Pilot Program

JMIR Formative Research

2022

Background
The emergence of COVID-19 exacerbated the existing epidemic of opioid use disorder (OUD) across the United States due to the disruption of in-person treatment and support services. Increased use of technology including telehealth and the development of new partnerships may facilitate coordinated treatment interventions that comprehensively address the health and well-being of individuals with OUD.

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Opioid-stimulant trends in overdose toxicology by race, ethnicity, & gender: An analysis in Delaware, 2013–2019

Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse

2022

Recent upticks of stimulant presence in overdose deaths suggest the opioid epidemic is morphing, which raises questions about what drugs are involved and who is impacted. We investigate annual and growth rate trends in combined opioid-stimulant overdose toxicology between 2013 and 2019 for White, Black, and Hispanic male and female decedents in Delaware. During these years, toxicology shifted to illegal drugs for all with fentanyl leading the increase and opioid-cocaine combinations rising substantially. While combined opioid-cocaine toxicology grew among Black and Hispanic Delawareans, White males continue to report the highest rates overall. These findings depart from historical patterns and may challenge existing opioid epidemic policies.

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Emerging Disparities in the Placement of Law Enforcement-Based Treatment Referral and Recovery Programs

Criminal Justice Review

2022

Rising rates of opioid use disorder, overdoses, and opioid-related criminal offenses have prompted U.S. law enforcement agencies to adopt alternatives to arrest and formal criminal processing. Police departments frequently implement treatment referral programs and claim an affiliation with the Police Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative (PAARI). Although expanding to hundreds of agencies, PAARI efforts may not be equally distributed across communities, raising concerns about access to non-arrest diversion and increasing disparities in the criminal processing of drug-related offenses. This study compares the characteristics and geographic placement of law enforcement agencies with and without PAARI programs in 29 states. Law enforcement agencies situated in communities with lower rates of poverty and smaller Black populations have lower odds of having a PAARI program.

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Affiliations

  • Sociology Compass : Editorial Board
  • Sociological Forum : Editorial Board
  • Sociological Quarterly : Editorial Board
  • Feminist Criminology : Editorial Board
  • Adiciones : Editorial Board

Languages

  • English