B.A. (Hons) St. Mary's University, Ph.D. Lakehead University Associate Professor

Office: SN3087

Phone: (709) 864-7676

Email: nharris@mun.ca

Affiliation: Clinical

Background 

Nick is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He earned his B.A. (Honours) in Psychology from Saint Mary’s University, followed by his M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Lakehead University. He completed his internship through the Northern Ontario Psychology Internship Consortium (NORPIC), specializing in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

In 2014, Nick relocated to St. John’s, Newfoundland, and joined the Department of Psychology at Memorial University in August 2016. Alongside his academic work, he maintains a clinical practice as a registered Clinical Psychologist, focusing primarily on youth and their families who are experiencing mental health challenges, often alongside co-occurring concerns related to substance use or problematic technology use (e.g., social media, gaming).

Nick’s research interests lie in the areas of substance use and behavioural addictions. Since the legalization of non-medical cannabis in Canada, a significant portion of his research has focused on cannabis use among young adults. However, he is also interested in further exploring issues related to technology use among adolescents and young adults, including the psychological impacts of digital media and gaming. 

Selected Publications

Coles, A. R. L., Perry, J. K., Hiscock, B. B., Fawcett, J. M., Harris, N., & Fawcett, E. J. (accepted). The prevalence of cannabis use disorder in individuals with anxiety or related disorders: A systematic review. Journal of Duel Diagnosis.

Downey, M., Coles, A., & Harris, N. (2025). Courtesy stigma toward parents of adolescents with cannabis use disorder: Examining the role of language and gender. Drug: Education, Prevention and Policy, 1-11. doi:10.1080/09687637.2025.2487452

Rowe, E., Downey, M., Harris., N., Kinzel, E., Donnan, J., & Bishop, L. (2025). Mapping the landscape: A scoping review of evaluated substance use harm reduction programs for youth. Journal of Drug Education: Substance Abuse Research and Prevention. doi:10.1177/00472379251335744

Rowe, E., Coles, A., Harris-Lane, L., Harris, N., Bishop, L., Howells, R., & Donnan, J. (2025). Exploring cannabis consumption stigma in Canada with consideration of age and gender differences. Addictive Behaviour Report, 21. doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2025.100608

Harris-Lane, L., Sheehy, M., Loveless, C.A., Parihar, V., Rash, J., Storey, D., Tippin, G., & Harris. N. (2025). Reducing medical cannabis use risk among Veterans: A descriptive study. Harm Reduction Journal, 22(9), 1-13. doi:10.1186/s12954-024-01149-w

Sheehy, M.R., Storey, D.P., Rash, J., Tippin, G., Parihar, V.,  Harris, N. (2025).  Cannabis use characteristics and PTSD-related outcomes among Canadian Veterans with chronic pain. Journal of Veteran Studies.11(1), 30-46. doi:10.21061/jvs.v11i1.582

Coles, A., Harris, N., Bishop, L. D., Howells, R. L., & Donnan, J. R. (2024). The highs and lows of cannabis stigma: A vignette study of factors that influence stigma toward cannabis consumers. Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy, 1-14. doi:10.1080/09687637.2024.2392546

Downey, M., Bishop, L., Donnan, J., Rowe, E., & Harris., N. (2024). A survey of educator perspectives toward teaching harm reduction cannabis education. Plos one, 19(5), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0299085

Froude, A., Fawcett, E., Coles, A.,  Drakes, D., Harris, N., & Fawcett, J. (2024). The prevalence of cannabis use disorder in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A clinical epidemiological meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research.  doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.02.050

Harris-Lane, L., Storey, D., Drakes, D., Donnan, J., Bishop, L., & Harris, N.  (2023). Emerging adult perceptions of cannabis consumption: Examining changes in perceptions from pre-legalization to post-legalization. International Journal of Drug Policy. doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104193

McMahon, I., Harris-Lane, L., Donnan, J., Bishop, L., & Harris, N. (2023). Emerging adult perceptions of higher-risk cannabis consumption behaviours. Harm Reduction Journal. doi:10.1186/s12954-023-00860-4

Harris-Lane, L., Drakes, D., Rowe, E., Donnan, J., Bishop, L., & Harris, N. (2023). Emerging adult perceptions of cannabis consumption post-legalization: Considering age and sex differences. Journal of Adolescent Health 72(3), 404-411. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.10.008. 

MacLaren, V., McDonald, V., Hollett, K., & Harris, N. (2022). Gambling associated risk-taking behaviors correlate with emotional regulation and the Iowa Gambling Task but not Wisconsin Card Sorting. Journal of Gambling Studies. doi:10.1007/s10899-022-1015-z

Pollard, M., Drakes, D., & Harris, N. (2022). Canadian perceptions of the risk and social acceptability of driving under the influence of cannabis. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. doi:10.1007/s11469-022-00879-x

Wilkins, L., Rash, J., Fawcett, J., & Harris, N. (2021). Evaluation of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) in a recreational video game playing population. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 1-14. doi: 10.1007/s11469-021-00633-9

Harris-Lane, L., Winters, E., & Harris, N. (2021). Young adult perceptions of cannabis use based on age and sex of user. Emerging Adulthood. 9(4), 339-346. doi: 10.1177/2167696820930862

Harris, N., Hollett, K. B., & Remedios, J. (2020). Facets of competitiveness as predictors of problem video gaming among players of massively multiplayer online first-person shooter games. Current Psychology, 1-10. doi: 10.1007/s12144-020-00886-y  \

Squires, L. R., Hollett, K. B., Hesson, J., & Harris, N. (2020). Psychological distress, emotion dysregulation, and coping behaviour: A theoretical perspective of problematic smartphone use. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19(4), 1284-1299. doi:10.1007/s11469-020-00224-0

Hollett, K. B., & Harris, N. (2020). Dimensions of emotion dysregulation associated with problem video gaming, Addiction Research and Theory, 28(1), 38-45. doi: 10.1080/16066359.2019.1579801

Winters, E., & Harris, N. (2019). The impact of Indigenous identity and treatment seeking intention on the stigmatization of substance use. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 28(1), 1-16. doi: doi:10.1007/s11469-019-00162-6