In the English Vocabulary Profile, there are 3 levels for the phrase ‘associate with‘.
B2 to be related to something or caused by something
C1 [T] to connect someone or something in your mind with someone or something else
C2 to spend time with a group of people, especially people who are disapproved of
It is not easy to say which level the following example best relates to:
I didn’t want Nikki to think that I was associated with that kind of sexual behavior because I‘ve never done anything like that.
Well, associating with criminals, if you‘re the one they talked to, that would be a violation of your parole.
A collocate search in COCA for ‘ASSOCIATE with’
1 RISK 1724
2 COSTS 1424
3 PROBLEMS 1379
4 INCREASED 1213
5 FACTORS 1212
6 RISKS 1046
7 HIGHER 1028
8 SIGNIFICANTLY 1020
9 LEVELS 730
10 CLOSELY 710