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Alyssa Brown

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Doctoral Candidate

Alyssa is a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Georgia. At the intersection of criminology and family sociology, her research focuses broadly on the relationships between social inequality, family processes, and antisocial behavior among adolescents and young adults. Alyssa's dissertation uses advanced quantitative methods to examine the impact of racial discrimination on the development of delinquent behavior among Black adolescents at the within-person level. This study extends existing research on the criminogenic effects of racial discrimination while also making a significant contribution to developmental and life course criminology. 

Alyssa is also a committed and passionate instructor. She has experience teaching several courses, including Criminology, Family Violence, Introduction to Sociology, and Sociology of Family. Reflecting her teaching efficacy, she has received excellent teaching evaluations from students, with average scores above 4.5 (out of 5.0) across a wide range of domains. In 2022, she received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the University of Georgia’s Center for Teaching and Learning, which recognizes the top 10 percent of graduate teaching assistants. In the same year, she also received the Graduate Teaching Excellence Award in the Department of Sociology.

Education:
  • Graduate Certificate in Quantitative Methods, University of Georgia, 2021
  • M.A. Sociology, University of Georgia, 2019
  • B.S. Family and Consumer Sciences in Human Development and Family Science, University of Georgia, 2016
Selected Publications:

Simons, L.G. & Brown, A. L. 2022. "A Developmental Perspective on Girls' Delinquency: Testing the Family Stress Model." Feminist Criminology.  

Steele, M. E., Sutton, T. E., Brown, A. L., Simons, L. G., and Warren, P. Y. 2022. A Test of General Strain Theory: Explaining Intimate Partner Violence and Alcohol Use among Black Women." Feminist Criminology 17(2):163-184.

Brown, A. L., Simons, L. G., and Gibbons, F. X. 2021. "How Economic Stress Impacts Risky Sex among African American Adolescents." Journal of Youth and Adolescence 51:1074-1088.

Of Note:
  • Graduate Education Advancement Board Fellowship, University of Georgia (2022)
  • Graduate Teaching Award, Department of Sociology, University of Georgia (2022)
  • Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, University of Georgia (2022)
  • Graduate Education Advancement Board Fellowship, University of Georgia (2021)
  • Bo Williams Master's Thesis Award, Department of Sociology, University of Georgia (2020)
Courses Regularly Taught:
Articles Featuring Alyssa Brown

Lacey Moore and Alyssa Brown were both awarded 2023 Summer Doctoral Research Assistantships from UGA's Graduate School. These competitive awards provide funding that allows advanced doctoral candidates to focus on their dissertation research…

From left to right,  Steph Hanus, M.A., won the B.O. Williams thesis award, Megan Steele, Ph.D., received the Certificate of Excellence and Alyssa Brown, doctoral candidate, received the Graduate Teaching Award. Dr. Leslie Gordon Simons, second…

Events featuring Alyssa Brown
Miller Learning Center, Room 214

Join the Department of Sociology for a Speaker Event with our newest Doctor!  Alyssa Brown, Ph.D.

Nov 1, 3:00-4:00 at the Miller Learning Center, Room 214.