Education

Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Areas of Specialization:

• Survey Research and Methodology
• Substance Use
• Hidden & Hard-to-Reach Populations
• Social Networks

My research focuses on substance use, hidden and hard-to-reach populations, and survey methodology. Currently I am focused on behaviors of people who inject drugs in rural Puerto Rico, testing and applying the network scale-up method, and exploring how privacy in interviews affects outcomes. Upcoming papers examine differences in needle sharing networks, interviewer effects on adolescent self-reporting, and the distribution of social network sizes among Nebraskans. Recent publications have appeared in the Journal of Drug Issues, AIDS and Behavior, and PLoS ONE.

I have recently taught Drugs & Society (SOCI 309) and Research Methods (SOCI 205) for the sociology department.

Habecker, Patrick, Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, and Kirk Dombrowski. 2018 “Rural and Urban Differences in Nebraskans’ Access to Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Heroin, and Prescription Pills.” Journal of Drug Issues 48(4):608-624. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022042618786717  

Less, Hsuan-Wei, Miranda Melson, Jerreed Ivanich, Patrick Habecker, G. Robin Gauthier, Lisa Wexler, Bilal Khan, and Kirk Dombrowski. “Mapping the Structure of Perceptions in Helping Networks of Alaska Natives.” PLoS ONE 13(11):e0204343 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204343

Habecker, Patrick, Roberto Abadie, Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, Jaun Carlos Reyes, Bilal Khan, Kirk Dombrowski. 2018. “Injection Partners, HCV, and HIV Status among Rural Persons Who Inject Drugs in Puerto Rico.” Substance Use & Misuse 53(7)1128-1138. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2017.1400562

Kort-Butler, Lisa, and Patrick Habecker. 2018. “Framing and Cultivating the Story of Crime: The Effects of Media Use, Victimization, and Social Networks on Attitudes about Crime.” Criminal Justice Review 43(2)127-146. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016817710696  (First published online May 2017).

Duncan, Ian, Patrick Habecker, Bilal Khan, Kirk Dombrowski. 2018. “Injection-related Hepatitis C Serosorting Behaviors among People Who Inject Drugs: An Urban/Rural Comparison.” Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2018.1425950

R21 DA047304-01 Co-Primary Investigator (MPI), Total Costs: $412,763. “Assessing the effects of Hurricane Maria on Opioid Agonist Treatment Access among PWID in Rural Puerto Rico.” Submitted November 2017. Funded in 2018