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Nicholas Bakken

Professor
Sociology & Criminal Justice University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

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Nicholas Bakken

Professor

Sociology & Criminal Justice

Specialty area(s)

Criminology and Criminal Justice, Criminal Desistance, Prisoner Reentry, Diversion programs, Drug Treatment Courts, Substance Use and Health, Suicidology

Brief biography

Nicholas Bakken is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and the UWL Student Research and Experiential Learning Coordinator. He received his B.S. (2004) from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and his M.A (2006) and Ph.D. (2009) from the University of Delaware. Dr. Bakken's teaching and research interests are in the areas of criminology, criminal justice, and research methods. His research focuses on criminal offending across the life course, evaluation research, desistance from crime, prisoner reentry, substance use and health, and suicidology.

Dr. Bakken's current research focuses on an evaluation of the La Crosse County Youth Justice and System of Care programs. Previously, Dr. Bakken was the lead evaluator on two federal grants associated with the La Crosse County criminal justice system. The first was a formal evaluation of the La Crosse County Drug Court in association with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The second project, the BJA funded Fresh Start program, sought to address the treatment and case management needs of incarcerated adult men and women with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Current courses at UWL

FYS 100: Consequences of the Failed War on Drugs

SOC 110: Introduction to Sociology

SOC 323: Corrections and Penology

SOC 324: Criminal Justice

SOC 326: Sociopharmacology

SOC 350: Research Methods II

SOC 405: Quantitative Social Research Seminar

Education

Ph.D. Criminology, University of Delaware, 2009
M.A. Criminology, University of Delaware, 2006
B.S. Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, 2004

Career

Teaching history

2009- Present- Sociology and Criminal Justice at UW-La Crosse

Professional history

2022-Present. Student Research and Experiential Learning Coordinator, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

2020-Present. Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

2015-2020. Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

2009-2015. Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

2005-2009. Research Assistant, Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies, University of Delaware.

Research and publishing

Bakken, N. & Malone, S. (2023). Depression, self-injury, and suicidal ideation: An examination of the risk factors and psychosocial correlates among female college students. Deviant Behavior, 45(1), 95-109.

Kruse, L., & Bakken, N. (2023). Creating legitimacy in a diversion court: Testing the theoretical framework of Procedural Justice and Therapeutic Jurisprudence. Drug Court Review, Fall 2023, 3-28.

Bakken, N., & Kruse, L. (2021). An examination of sexual victimization, self-injurious behaviors, and suicidality among female college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, DOI:10.1177/0886260519880163

 Bakken, N. (2019). Risk factors and correlates of self-injurious behavior and suicidal ideation among college students. Deviant Behavior, DOI:10.1080/01639625.2019.1651447

Bakken, N., & Visher, C. (2018). Successful reintegration and mental health: An examination of gender differences among reentering offenders. Criminal Justice & Behavior, 45(8), 1121-1135.

DeCamp, W., & Bakken, N. (2016). Self-injury, suicide ideation, and sexual orientation: Differences in causes and correlates by orientation and gender. Journal of Injury and Violence Research, 8(1), 15-24.

Visher, C. & Bakken, N. (2014). Reentry challenges facing women with mental health problems. Women and Health, 54, 768-780.

Bakken, N., Gunter, W., & Visher, C. (2013). Spirituality and desistance from substance use among reentering offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 58, 1321-1339.

Visher, C., Bakken, N., & Gunter, W. (2013). Incarcerated fatherhood, community reintegration and successful outcomes. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 52, 451-469.

Gunter, W., & Bakken, N. (2012). The many measurements of self-control: How reoperationalized self-control compares. European Journal of Criminology, 9, 309-322.

Bakken, N. & Gunter, W. (2012). Self-cutting and suicidal ideation among adolescents: Gender differences in the causes and correlates of self-injury. Deviant Behavior, 33, 339-356.

Gunter, W., Kurtz, S., Bakken, N., & O’Connell, D. (2012). Desisting from prescription drug abuse: An application of growth models to Rx opioid users. Journal of Drug Issues, 42(1), 82-97.

Bachman, R., Gunter, W., & Bakken. N. (2011). Predicting feelings of school safety for lower, middle, and upper school students: A gender specific analysis. Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice, 7, 59-76.

Gunter, W., & Bakken, N. (2010). Transitioning to middle school in the sixth grade: A hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analysis of substance use, violence, and suicidal thoughts. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 30, 895-915.

Kudos

presented

Nicholas Bakken and Lisa Kruse, both Sociology & Criminal Justice, presented "Treatment Alternatives and Diversion: Final Evaluation Report" at Evidence Based Decision Making Pre-Trial Group for La Crosse County on Wednesday, Feb. 14 in La Crosse. Kruse and Bakken presented the results of their year-long evaluation on La Crosse County's Pre- and Post-Charge Diversion Program to key stakeholders in the local criminal justice system.

Submitted on: Feb. 14

served

Nicholas Bakken and Lisa Kruse, both Sociology & Criminal Justice, submitted their evaluations findings of the La Crosse County Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) Programs to the Wisconsin Department of Justice (WI DOJ) on Dec. 29, 2023. The technical report is titled "Final Evaluation Report: La Crosse County Treatment Alternatives and Diversion (TAD) Program," and the work was part of a yearlong, grant-funded initiative awarded to La Crosse County by the WI DOJ. Drs. Kruse and Bakken worked in collaboration with La Crosse County Justice Support Services (JSS) and the La Crosse County District Attorney's Office to collect the data and perform the evaluation.

Submitted on: Jan. 22

named

Nicholas Bakken, Student Research, Creativity & Experiential Learning, was named chair of the Wisconsin Council on Undergraduate Research (WisCUR) on Thursday, Sept. 28. WisCUR provides leadership to advance, enhance and expand undergraduate research, scholarly and creative activities (URSCA) in Wisconsin.

Submitted on: Sept. 28, 2023

published

Nicholas Bakken and Lisa Kruse, both Sociology & Criminal Justice, co-authored the article "Creating Legitimacy in a Diversion Court: Testing the Theoretical Framework of Procedural Justice and Therapeutic Jurisprudence" in Drug Court Review published on Sept. 13 by NDCRC.

Submitted on: Sept. 18, 2023

elected

Nicholas Bakken, Sociology & Criminal Justice, was elected to the Wisconsin Department of Justice Crisis Intervention Advisory Board. This advisory board will develop and implement a crisis intervention plan related to gun violence in Wisconsin.

Submitted on: Sept. 6, 2023

published

Nicholas Bakken, Sociology & Criminal Justice, authored the article "Depression, Self-injury, and Suicidal Ideation: An Examination of the Risk Factors and Psychosocial Correlates Among Female College Students" in Deviant Behavior published on Tuesday, July 18 by Taylor-Francis. Co-authored by Sarah Malone, UWL alum and graduate student at the University of Iowa.

Submitted on: July 18, 2023

presented

Nicholas Bakken and Lisa Kruse, both Sociology & Criminal Justice, presented "Creating Legitimacy in a Drug Treatment Court: Participants' Experiences Shifting From Adversarial to Supportive Criminal Justice Environments" at Midwest Sociological Society on March 25 in Minneapolis, MN. Drs. Kruse and Bakken presented their qualitative research on drug treatment courts at the Midwest Sociological Society Conference.

Submitted on: Mar. 31, 2023

presented

Nicholas Bakken and Lisa Kruse, both Sociology & Criminal Justice, presented "La Crosse County Fresh Start Program: A Reentry Program for Adults with Co-Occurring Disorders" at the Criminal Justice Management Council on Feb. 15 in La Crosse. Bakken and Kruse presented the findings and recommendations from a multi-year evaluation of the La Crosse County Fresh Start Program to the La Crosse County Criminal Justice Management Council. Fresh Start is a new reentry program in La Crosse County designed to provide tailored support for individuals who come into the county jail with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, a population that is high-risk and high-need with significant rates of incarceration and poor chances at successful reintegration into the community. The development of the reentry program and concurrent evaluation was funded by a U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance grant.

Submitted on: Feb. 17, 2023

presented

Nicholas Bakken and Lisa Kruse, both Sociology & Criminal Justice, presented "Creating Legitimacy in a Drug Treatment Court: Participants' Experiences Shifting From Adversarial to Supportive Criminal Justice Environments" at WiSys on Aug. 2 in La Crosse, Wi. Lisa Kruse and Nick Bakken presented part of their research from a multi-year process and outcome evaluation of the La Crosse County Drug Treatment Court. The evaluation was done in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts and was funded with a Bureau of Justice Assistance Grant.

Submitted on: Aug. 4, 2022

published

Nicholas Bakken and Lisa Kruse co-authored the article "An Examination of Sexual Victimization, Self-Injurious Behaviors, and Suicidality Among Female College Students" in "Journal of Interpersonal Violence" published on Oct. 5, 2019 by Sage.

Submitted on: Oct. 6, 2019

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