N. Andrew Peterson

N. Andrew Peterson, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Professor with the School of Social Work at Rutgers University. He earned his Ph.D. in Community Psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His research examines the mechanisms through which community organizations promote empowerment and community change. His work also focuses on preventing community-level problems (e.g., tobacco outlet density, alcohol outlet density, density of vacant and abandoned housing, etc.) that contribute to social and health disparities. He currently serves as Principal Investigator of a study funded by the New Jersey Division of Mental Health & Addiction Services to evaluate the implementation of a new statewide prevention infrastructure that identifies communities based on epidemiological analyses and implements evidence-based and culturally-competent prevention strategies.

• Advanced Statistics
• Structural Equation Modeling
• Research Methods
• Community Organizing

Treitler, P., Akincigil, A., Peterson, N.A., Williams, A.R., & Crystal, S. (2026). Association of emergency department initiation with subsequent pharmacotherapy and outcomes among patients with opioid use disorder. Journal of Addiction Medicine. Advance Online Publication. 

Frederiks, K., Everett, M., Powell, K.G., Peterson, N.A., Borys, S. Hallcom, D.K., & Cooperman, N.A. (2025). Reported outcomes from a community naloxone training and distribution program. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 15, 100341-100344.

Christens, B.D., Galeotti, T., Lenzi, M., Peterson, N.A., & Treitler, P.C. (2025). Direct and indirect effects of socioeconomic status and neighborhood disadvantage on mental health: Psychological sense of community as mediator. Social Indicators Research, 179, 463-480.

Wang, Y., Orwenyo, E.K., Powell, K.G., Peterson, N.A., Wang, Y., Borys, S., & Hallcom, D.K. (2025). Dimensions of community context that affect coalition effectiveness: Development of an instrument. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 25(2), 183-198.

Morton, C.M., Powell, K.G., Routhier, M., & Peterson, N.A. (2024). Community alcohol sales and opioid poisoning deaths: Alcohol serving space as a harm reduction opportunity. Harm Reduction Journal, 21(1), 206-212.

Peterson, C.H., Peterson, N.A. & Casey, C. (2023). Effect of method bias on the internal structure of the SCORE measure of family functioning. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 31(3), 498-508.

McMahon, S., Banyard, V., Peterson, N.A., Cusano, J., Brown, Q. & Farmer, A. (2022). Physical spaces for campus sexual violence prevention: A conceptual model. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 3(3), 347-378.

Peterson, N.A., Lardier, D.T., Powell, K.G., Mankopf, E., Rashid, M., Morton, C. & Borys, S. (2021). Psychometric properties of a recovery empowerment scale: Testing emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and relational domains. Journal of Community Psychology, 49(7), 2874-2891.

Peterson, N.A., Powell, K.G. Treitler, P., Litterer, D., Borys, S. & Hallcom, D. (2019). The strategic prevention framework in community-based coalitions: Internal processes and associated changes in policies affecting adolescent substance abuse. Children and Youth Services Review, 101, 352-362.