How Parents’ Ideals are Offset by Uncertainty and Fears: A Systematic Review of the Experiences of European Parents regarding the Sexual Education of Their Children
Journal of Sex Research, Volume 60 Issue 7 2023
Maaike Noorman, PhD
Maaike Noorman is a PhD student in the Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science: Public Health at Utrecht University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Leiden University College, specializing in International Development and Global Public Health, and subsequently completed her master’s degree in Social Policy and Public Health at Utrecht University. During her master’s program, Maaike conducted research in South Africa, where she evaluated predictors of loss to follow-up in HIV care. This experience enhanced her understanding of the social and behavioral complexities surrounding HIV treatment.
Her PhD research focuses on promoting inclusive HIV cure development by examining the perspectives of people living with HIV and other key affected populations. Central to her work are themes of HIV cure awareness, importance, and the meanings attributed to potential cures. Through her interdisciplinary approach, Maaike bridges basic, clinical, and social sciences, fostering meaningful engagement with affected communities in HIV cure research. This integration of perspectives promotes a participatory and community-centered approach to HIV cure initiatives.
In addition to her PhD work, Maaike is passionate about sexual health promotion. She has researched parents' perspectives on sexual education in the Netherlands and is currently leading a project that analyzes online reactions and newspaper articles related to school-based sexual education. Her work in this area aims to enhance understanding of public discourse surrounding sexual health education and its impact on policy and practice, ultimately contributing to more inclusive and effective educational strategies that meet the needs of parents, schools, and children.
E-mail: m.a.j.noorman@uu.nl
Home page: https://www.uu.nl/medewerkers/MAJNoorman
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9839-9766
Chantal den Daas, PhD
Dr. Chantal den Daas is an academic with over 15 years of expertise in health psychology, specializing in sexual health and infectious disease prevention. She earned a Research Master's in Social Psychology with a minor in Methodology from the University of Amsterdam in 2008, followed by her PhD from Utrecht University in 2013. Her doctoral research, focused on sexual risk decision-making, offered critical insights into how impulsive and reflective states influence decisions through attention and perception rather than altering the effects of long-term goals.
Following her PhD, Chantal undertook postdoctoral research at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the Netherlands, working at the Centre for Infectious Disease Control. Her research centered on understanding the behavioral and decision-making processes underpinning sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV transmission. By investigating differences between subpopulations and different aspects of their sexual (risk) behaviours, she contributed to the knowledge bases needed for interventions reducing STI and HIV prevalence.
Currently a Senior Lecturer and the Lead of the Health Psychology Group at the University of Aberdeen, Chantal has expanded her research to encompass broader health behaviours, such as vaping and bowel cancer screening. She is committed to advancing interdisciplinary approaches to health prevention and behaviour change, with a strong focus on both fundamental and applied science, and individual decision-making and population-level interventions. Her work continues to influence public health strategies, drawing on psychological theories to drive effective behavioural interventions.
E-mail : chantal.dendaas@abdn.ac.uk
Home page: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/people/chantal.dendaas
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0955-3691
John de Wit, PhD
John de Wit (MSC, PhD; he/him) is professor of Interdisciplinary Social Science: Public Health, at Utrecht University and the Utrecht University Dean for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. John de Wit trained as a social psychologist at Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands and received his PhD in Public Health from the University of Amsterdam. As a social psychologist of health, John works inter- and transdisciplinary across the social sciences, public health and health promotion. He is passionate about promoting the health and wellbeing of socially stigmatized groups (e.g., LGBT+ people) and contribute to mainstreaming sexual health issues.
As an expert in health behavior and health behavior change, much of John’s work is related to the global HIV response and key affected populations. His current research programs in HIV prevention and sexual health promotion encompass cutting-edge social and behavioral science research into (potential) community trust in, demand for and (unintended) impacts of biomedical HIV prevention based on the use of antiretroviral drugs. He is also involved in research into the extent and correlates of various indicators of HIV-treatment adherence and failure in high income as well as high endemic country settings, with a view to optimizing treatment outcomes and epidemic responses. He is also the social science research of the Dutch research agenda to contribute to the development of an HIV cure, the next frontier in promoting the health of people affected and eliminating new infections.
Other themes in John’s work include sexual and gender-based violence, sexuality education, sexual and reproductive health and services, and the health and wellbeing of sexual orientation and gender identity diverse communities. Cross-cutting issues in John’s research include social determinants of health, the development of effective policy and intervention, empowering affected communities, and global health.
E-mail: j.dewit@uu.nl
Home page: https://www.uu.nl/staff/jdewit
ORCID iD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5895-7935
Award to be Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 16 at 06:30 PM (PST)
This award is funded by Taylor & Francis, publisher of SSSS's journal, The Journal of Sex Research.