Aaron Devor, PhD, FSSSS, FSTLHE

Founder and Inaugural Chair in Transgender Studies

Founder and Subject Matter Expert, The Transgender Archives

Founder and Host, Moving Trans History Forward conferences

Professor, Sociology Department - University of Victoria

Plenary Session Speaker - Saturday, November 5th at 9:00 AM PDT

Dr. Aaron Devor, PhD, FSSSS, FSTLHE, is an internationally recognized leader in Transgender Studies who has been studying and teaching about transgender topics since the early 1980s. He established and holds the world’s first Chair in Transgender Studies; initiated and hosts the international, interdisciplinary Moving Trans History Forward conferences; and founded and is the subject matter expert for the world’s largest Transgender Archives. He has published widely on transgender topics, including as an author of four books and editor of one.



His 1989 book, Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality, was the first book to describe what would now be called nonbinary genders. His 1997, 720-page classic, FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in Society, was the second-ever book about trans men and the first based on non-clinical field research. Other influential works includes a widely-cited model of transgender identity development (2004) and the Lambda-Literary-Award-nominee The Transgender Archives: Foundations for the Future (2014) about the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria. He has also been an author of versions of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) Standards of Care since 1999 (versions 6, 7, & 8), and has been guiding the translation of version 7 into world languages.

Devor’s opinions are frequently sought by the media, he has delivered more than 40 keynote and plenary addresses to audiences around the world, and he has received numerous awards for his research and advocacy work. He is a 3M national-award-winning teacher, a Fellow of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, and a member of the International Academy of Sex Research. Dr. Devor is a former Dean of Graduate Studies (2002-2012), and a professor of Sociology, at the University of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada.

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Photo Credit: Blake Little

Madeline Sutton, MD, MPH, FACOG

Founder and CEO of OneBrain4Health, Dr. Madeline MD, and Harlem STEMUp!;

Assistant Professor, Morehouse School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology;

Former Team Leader, Minority Health and Health Equity, Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, CDC

Plenary Session Speaker - Friday, November 5th at 4:45 PM PDT

Dr. Madeline Sutton is the Founder and CEO of OneBrain4Health, an LLC aimed at achieving health equity through community-based science and mentoring. She is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist with > 22 years of patient care experience, medical epidemiologist, nationally recognized author, speaker, and consultant. She’s a retired veteran of the US. Public Health Service (CAPTAIN), having served as the Team Lead for the Minority Health and Health Equity Research Team in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At the CDC, she worked directly with underserved communities and historically underrepresented/historically excluded early-career scientists by mentoring, conducting research, presenting at domestic and international conferences, and publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts; all to help shift toward greater health equity. In 2016, she received the CDC's highest honor award for leading workforce diversity and mentoring early-career scientists for ongoing and future careers in public health. Post-CDC, she remains passionate about mentoring historically underrepresented, early-career scientists and clinicians. To date, she has proudly mentored over 90 early-career scientists, researchers, and residents. She’s also provided care and instruction internationally through mission work and clinical trainings in Haiti, South Africa, and Ghana. Dr. Sutton has presented at numerous scientific meetings and published over 160 scientific articles and book chapters. She has authored two books to date: 1-Our Communities, Our Sexual Health: Awareness and Prevention for African-Americans, which explores the historical and modern-day context of sexual health in Black and Brown communities, and 2-In Control: Everything You Need to Know about Worry-free, Joyful Sex, in which she shares details about birth control options and ways to reach and enjoy more sexual freedom and control. She maintains a faculty appointment at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She also shares medical information via social media posts (@DrMadelineMD), and in several media outlets to ensure increased access to accurate and scientifically-based sexual and reproductive health information, especially for underserved communities. Her mission is simple: Improve access to information and health outcomes for everyone, especially women of color. Dr. Sutton earned her Bachelors in Science (BS) in Psychology/Pre-med from Georgetown University, her Doctorate of Medicine (MD) and Masters of Public Health (MPH) degrees from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, respectively. She completed her OB/GYN internship and residency at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (now Rutgers University). Dr. Sutton has been a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) since the year 2000. She recently founded the 501c3 non-profit Harlem STEM Up!, which focuses on supporting STEM education and career opportunities for primarily Black and Latinx/Hispanic youth in Harlem, NYC, which is where she grew up. 

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Eric Walsh-Buhi, MPH, PhD

Professor and Chair

Department of Applied Health Science

Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Eric Walsh-Buhi is a tenured Professor and Chair of the Department of Applied Health Science at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington. He also serves as Affiliated Faculty at the Kinsey Institute, Indiana University-Bloomington, and Adjunct Professor at the San Diego State University School of Public Health. His research focuses on 1) understanding and promoting sexual and reproductive health among young people, and 2) using innovative technologies (e.g., Internet, mobile devices [or mHealth]) in health communication and the promotion of health behavior change (called digital health). Dr. Walsh-Buhi is currently leading a randomized controlled trial to evaluate a federally funded research project, entitled “About Us: A Healthy Relationships Program for Vulnerable Youth,” and an NIH-funded study to build on the Sexual Health and Estheticians (or SHE) Study, focusing on estheticians (skincare professionals) who serve men, and determine the acceptability of/feasibility for pubic hair removal salon-based interventions. He has also led multiple studies related to digital health, including health information seeking among young people and social media content analytic studies centering on PrEP for HIV prevention on Instagram, HPV vaccine-related Twitter posts, and other sexual health topics. Since he began his academic career, through nationally competitive/other grant programs, Dr. Walsh-Buhi has secured more than $7 million as a PI or Co-PI and more than $2.5 million as a Co-I for research projects. Dr. Walsh-Buhi is a SSSS past President and program chair (2012 annual conference in Tampa) and current associate editor for the AJPH (formerly the American Journal of Public Health).

Meet Dr. Walsh-Buhi at the New Fellows Talk: “You just work around it”: Findings from an exploratory study of estheticians serving men - Saturday, November 5th at 2:45 PM PDT

Transtopia in the Sinophone Pacific

As a broad category of identity, “transgender” has given life to a vibrant field of academic research since the 1990s. Yet the Western origins of the field have tended to limit its cross-cultural scope. Howard Chiang proposes a new paradigm for doing transgender history in which geopolitics assumes central importance. Defined as the antidote to transphobia, transtopia challenges a minoritarian view of transgender experience and makes room for the variability of transness on a historical continuum. Against the backdrop of the Sinophone Pacific, Chiang argues that the concept of transgender identity must be rethought beyond a purely Western frame. At the same time, he challenges China-centrism in the study of East Asian gender and sexual configurations. Chiang brings Sinophone studies to bear on trans theory to deconstruct the ways in which sexual normativity and Chinese imperialism have been produced through one another. Grounded in an eclectic range of sources—from the archives of sexology to press reports of intersexuality, films about castration, and records of social activism—this book reorients anti-transphobic inquiry at the crossroads of area studies, medical humanities, and queer theory. Timely and provocative, Transtopia in the Sinophone Pacific highlights the urgency of interdisciplinary knowledge in debates over the promise and future of human diversity.

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Meet Dr. Chiang at the Oral Presentation - Saturday, November 5th at 2:45 PM PDT



Howard Chiang, PhD

(he/him/his)

Associate Professor

Department of History

University of California, Davis

https://howardchiang.faculty.ucdavis.edu

Born in Taiwan and grew up in Vancouver, Howard Chiang received his Ph.D. in the History of Science Program at Princeton University and is currently an Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Davis. Between 2019 and 2022, he served as the Founding Chair of the Society of Sinophone Studies. Chiang has written two monographs on China, forming a duology of queer Asian Pacific history through the lens of knowledge production. After Eunuchs: Science, Medicine, and the Transformation of Sex in Modern China (2018) analyzes the history of sex change in China from the demise of castration in the late Qing era to the emergence of transsexuality in Cold War Taiwan. It received the International Convention of Asia Scholars Humanities Book Prize. Transtopia in the Sinophone Pacific (2021), a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, proposes a new paradigm for doing transgender history in which geopolitics assumes central importance. Both books won the Bonnie and Vern L. Bullough Book Award from the SSSS. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History (2019), which was awarded the Dartmouth Medal by the American Library Association. Chiang’s recent work centers on the historical and conceptual foundations of the human sciences, especially psychoanalysis, cultural psychiatry, and racial science. Grants and fellowships from Academia Sinica, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, the Institute for Advanced Study, the National Humanities Center, the Tang Prize Foundation, and Wellcome Trust have funded his research.

Changes in Sexual Identity Labels in a Contemporary Cohort of Emerging Adult Women: 

Patterns, Prevalence and a Typology

Journal of Sex Research 58(5)

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Alice Campbell, PhD

Alice Campbell is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Life Course Centre at the University of Queensland. Alice's research expertise falls under the broad themes of the sociology of gender and sexuality, social inequalities, and life-course studies. Alice's research seeks to uncover and understand the ways in which women’s lives are structured by heteropatriarchy, and the production of inequalities by sexual identity and gender. Her current research is focused on topics that include women’s sexualities, gendered violence, and the feminization of poverty.

Francisco Perales, PhD

Francisco (Paco) Perales is Adjunct Associate Professor of Sociology at The University of Queensland. His research uses longitudinal and life-course approaches and quantitative methods to enhance our understanding of social stratification in contemporary societies. Paco’s work has concentrated on identifying the drivers of socio-economic inequalities by socio-economic background, gender, and sexual orientation within Australian society. His work has recently been published in outlets such as Demography, Sociology, Social Forces, Journal of Marriage and Family, Population and Development Review, and Social Science & Medicine.

Janeen Baxter, PhD

Janeen Baxter is Director of the Life Course Centre in the Institute for Social Science Research at The University of Queensland. Janeen is a sociologist with research interests and expertise in gender inequality, family dynamics, life course and longitudinal studies and has published widely in these areas. She has held visiting academic positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Manchester and the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at University College London. Janeen is a member of the Council for the Committee for Economic Development in Australia (CEDA), serves on the Expert Advisory Board for the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study and the Advisory Committee for the Social Policy Research Centre at University of New South Wales. Janeen is Section Editor for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies and a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

This award is funded by Taylor & Francis, publisher of SSSS's Journal of Sex Research. 

Zoë Peterson, PhD

(she/her/hers)

Senior Scientist

Director, Kinsey Institute Sexual Assault Research Initiative

Professor of Counseling and Educational Psychology

Indiana University Bloomington

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Zoë D. Peterson is a Professor of Counseling and Educational Psychology and Director of the Kinsey Institute Sexual Assault Research Initiative at Indiana University. She researches sexual assault, sexual coercion, and sexual consent. She has studied men’s and women’s experiences as victims and perpetrators of sexual aggression. Her research has been funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Social Science Research Council. Dr. Peterson also is a licensed clinical psychologist and editor of the Wiley Handbook of Sex Therapy. She is a former Associate Editor of the Journal of Sex Research and the immediate past-president of SSSS.

Meet Dr. Peterson at the Symposium Session - Friday, November 4th at 1:00 PM PDT

Revising The Sexual Experiences Survey: Innovations In The Measurement Of Sexual Victimization And Perpetration

Myeshia Price, PhD

Director of Research Science

The Trevor Project

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Myeshia Price (she/they) is the Director of Research Science at The Trevor Project. Dr. Price has more than fifteen years of experience in adolescent public health research, with a focus on sexuality, gender, and LGBTQ youth from an intersectional perspective. After completing their Ph.D. in developmental psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with research focusing on predicting early sexual behaviors during adolescence, they were an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Old Westbury prior to taking a postdoctoral research associate position at the Center for Innovative Public Health Research (CiPHR). Her primary research interest areas include developmental understandings of adolescent gender and sexuality and reducing LGBTQ youth mental health disparities with a particular focus on the role of protective factors. Their first SSSS conference was and have been in service to SSSS for 13 years, when they first served as a Student Ambassador in 2010. She has also served on the Membership Committee, Newsletter Committee, as an Early Professional Ambassador, and served on the Board of Directors as a Student Involvement Chair, At-Large Member, and most recently, as Treasurer. Dr. Price has been awarded our Outstand Student Ambassador award, the Andrew Mattison/David McWhirter Outstanding Student Paper Award, and recognized as an  Emerging Professional Scholar.



Meet Dr. Price at the Oral Presentation Session - Friday, November 4th at 3:30 PM PDT

Sexual Activity Among a Diverse Sample of LGBTQ Youth

Laura Widman, PhD

(she/her)

Clinical Psychologist

Associate Professor of Psychology

Area Coordinator for the Applied Social Psychology Program

North Carolina State University

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Laura Widman is an associate professor of psychology at North Carolina State University. Her research is focused on sexual communication between adolescents and their parents, partners, and friends, as well as the use of technology-based interventions to improve sexual health. She is an author on the bestselling undergraduate textbook in human sexuality, Our Sexuality. She is also the founder of Teen Health Research, a woman-owned small business on a mission to modernize adolescent sex education.

Meet Dr. Widman at the Brief Presentation - Saturday, November 5th at 2:45 PM PDT

Associations Between Stress and Depression in Adolescents: The Role of Romantic Relationship and Sexual Satisfaction

Meet Dr. Widman at the Oral Presentation - Saturday, November 5th at 11:00 AM PDT

PACT: Developing and Evaluating a Digital Sexual Consent Program for Youth

Sexual satisfaction in trans masculine and nonbinary individuals: A qualitative investigation

Journal of Sex Research 58(2)  

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Louis Lindley, MA

Louis Lindley, MA, [he/him/his], is currently a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying counseling psychology. His research interests broadly include gender minority stress, trans and nonbinary individuals’ sexual well-being, and substance use. Recently, he has focused on understanding how trans and nonbinary individuals cope with gender dysphoria and how transnormativity impacts well-being. As a White, Queer, trans man, he believes that producing research with, by, and for trans and nonbinary people is a way to transform the trans studies field that has historically relied on racialized transnormative notions of gender identity, towards inclusive and expansive understandings to improve care for trans and nonbinary communities. 

Annalisa Anzani, PhD

Annalisa Anzani, PhD, [she/her/hers] is a psychologist who holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Psychology of the University of Milano - Bicocca, where she now continues her research activity as a postdoctoral researcher. Her research interests focus on trans health and the effects of prejudice on mental health in sexual and gender minorities. Recently, she has worked on sexual well-being and romantic relationships of trans-including partnerships. In addition to her research interests, she has trained clinically on specific issues of sexual, gender, and relational diversity. Her most recent publication is “Desire for Genital Surgery in Trans Masculine Individuals: The Role of Internalized Transphobia, Transnormativity, and Trans Positive Identity".

Antonio Prunas, PhD

Antonio Prunas, PhD, [he/him/his] is a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist living and working in Milan, Italy. He completed a training in Clinical Sexology and qualified as a Certified Psychosexologist at the European Federation of Sexology (ECPS). He is also a graduate of the Post-Graduate Diploma in GSRD Therapy at Pink Therapy, London. He currently works in private practice as a psychotherapist and sex therapist, focusing in particular on GSRD clients. He is an Associate Professor in Clinical Psychology at the Department of Psychology of Milano-Bicocca State University, and since 2019 he has been the scientific director of the Post-Graduate Program in Clinical Sexology. He is a member of WPATH and the European Society for Sexual Medicine (ESSM).



M. Paz Galupo, PhD

M. Paz Galupo, PhD, [she/they] is Professor of Psychology and Director of QT-CREW (Queer/Trans Collective for Research on Equity & Wellness). Dr. Galupo’s overall research program centers on the intersection of sexual orientation and gender identity, with a particular focus on understanding non-binary expressions of bisexual/plurisexual and transgender experience. Most recently, their research has focused on the therapy experiences of trans and nonbinary clients, sexual experiences of trans individuals, and on understanding how trans and nonbinary folx experience gender dysphoria in order to improve our clinical models. Dr. Galupo is currently the Editor for Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (the official journal for APA’s Division 44), Editor for Journal of Bisexuality, and 

Associate Editor of the International Journal of Transgender Health. Dr. Galupo  also serves on the APA Task Force charged with updating the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons.



This award is funded by Taylor & Francis, publisher of SSSS's Journal of Sex Research. 

Humberto López Castillo, MD, PhD

(he, él, il)

Assistant Professor

Department of Health Sciences

University of Central Florida

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Dr. Humberto López Castillo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences, College of Health Professions and Sciences (CHPS) at the University of Central Florida (UCF). His research focuses on cardiometabolic health disparities in sexual minority men. Using a biobehavioral approach, his research identifies potential links between minority stress and metabolic syndrome outcomes (namely, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemias). Other lines of inquiry explore the potential mediation roles of HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy use in the development of cardiometabolic disease and behavioral aspects driving sexual health risk-taking among sexual minority men, especially the link between substance use and HIV transmission.

Dr. López Castillo’s background spans from clinical practice with adolescents and young adults, public health methods, and biobehavioral intervention development, implementation, and evaluation. Besides research, Dr. López Castillo teaches undergraduate classes on human disease, earning the 2022 CHPS Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching award. He also hosts The Sex Café Podcast, where clinicians, researchers, and community advocates meet over coffee to discuss issues and provide local resources for the sexual and reproductive health of the Central Florida community.

Dr. López Castillo graduated with an MD (2001) and completed his residency in pediatrics (2009) at the University of Panama. He also has an MSc in clinical sciences and an MEd in higher education. He completed his PhD in Public Health (2016) and postdoctoral fellowship in adolescent risk behaviors (2018) at the University of South Florida. Dr. López Castillo is Certified in Public Health and a Certified Medical Interpreter.

Meet Dr. López Castillo at the Brief Communication Presentation - Friday, November 4th at 3:30 PM PDT

Podcasts As Tools For Sexual And Reproductive Health: A Scoping, Systematic Literature Review

Background Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is the state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being in all matters relating to the reproductive system. Gaps in SRH represent an important burden on individuals, families, communities, and economies. The burden of disease can be directly attributed to SRH issues, such as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), with a special focus on infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), unintended pregnancies, and the health of sexual minorities. Podcasts are a popular, accessible communication form that can be readily implemented to promote SRH. While several SRH communication strategies are published in the literature, this study looks at how podcasts have been used as a tool in SRH matters and the outcomes of those uses. Methods With the support of the specialist librarian, a scoping, systematic literature review was conducted among 5 databases using their native search interface from 2006 inception date until December 2021 using variations for the keywords (“Webcasts" OR Podcast*) AND (sex* or reproductive)]. The search had no language or geographic restriction for the inclusion of peer-reviewed literature. Thematic analyses were conducted to identify uses of podcasts in SRH and the outcomes assessed by the publications. Results After deduplication, the initial search identified 324 records. After review for relevance, 98 full-text articles were reviewed for potential data extraction, leaving only 9 reports with measurable outcomes. Of these 9 reports, themes for uses included training (n=4) and continued education (n=3) for SRH providers and students. Content-wise, podcasts discussed sexual sciences as a health career (n=3), women’s SRH (n=3), the SRH of sexual minorities (n=2), and sexually transmitted infections (n=1). Outcomes measures were diverse and included educational outcomes (n=5) and outreach metrics (n=4). Conclusion Despite the exponential popularity of podcasts as a health communication tool, podcasts remain as an untapped resource in SRH communication. The scant literature shows promising uses of podcasts a tool for continued education of SRH professionals and an effective outreach tool for a broader audience. Important limitations include a lack of a standardized evaluation framework and potential publication bias.

This award is funded by Taylor & Francis, publisher of SSSS's Journal of Sex Research. 

Sadandaula Rose Muheriwa Matemba, PhD, MScMid, BScNEd, UCM, DipN, RNM

(she/her/hers)

Postdoctoral Research Associate

School of Nursing

University of Rochester

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Sadandaula Rose Muheriwa Matemba, PhD, MScMid, BScNEd, UCM, DipN, RNM is a Registered Nurse and Midwife and a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Rochester School of Nursing with early pregnancy, HIV, and other sexually transmitted infection prevention expertise influencing her research translation and implementation. Muheriwa Matemba integrates childhood development, basic science, sexual health literacy, nursing and midwifery, and community-based participatory approaches into interventions to promote adolescent sexual health and wellness. Utilizing socioecological and positive youth development models, Dr. Muheriwa Matemba seeks to equip and empower young adolescents (14 years and younger) with bio-behavioral sexual health literacy skills as they transition toward adulthood. She also aims to promote young adolescent sexual health literacy to individuals and institutions entrusted with the care and well-being of young adolescents. Dr. Muheriwa Matemba’s current research focuses on community and parental perspectives on the experiences that support the sexual health development of young adolescents (10-14 years) in the U.S.  

Meet Dr. Muheriwa Matemba at the Oral Presentation - Friday, November 4th at 3:30 PM PDT

Early Sexual Debut Among Young Adolescent Boys And Girls (10-14 Years): A Determinant For Early Initiation Of Sexual Health Support In The United States

Background: Adolescents who initiate sex at an earlier age (at 14 years or younger) have an increased likelihood of adverse health outcomes than those who start having sex later during adolescence or in their adulthood. Moreover, uncertainty exists regarding what sexual health support to give to young adolescents and at what age to initiate sexual health conversations that would help young adolescents make decisions to delay sexual debut. Knowledge of early sexual initiation among young adolescents is essential to inform timing and strategies for initiating sexual health support to help them prevent early sexual initiation and its adverse outcomes, particularly early pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Methods: Using the 2019 Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, we investigated the sexual behaviors of 23,361 young adolescents ages 10-14 from 14 States in the United States to determine the prevalence, age of sexual initiation, and associations of the development of sexual behavior in young adolescents. We applied point biserial correlation, chi-square, and multiple regression analyses to determine associations. Results: Of the 1191(5.1%) young adolescents who initiated sex, 320(26.9%) had first sexual intercourse before attaining 11 years, 154(12.9%) had first sexual intercourse when they were eight years old, and the mean age of initiating sex was 11.4 years. In addition, 683(57.3%) of the young adolescents who reported having sex used a condom the last time they had sex, of which 217(31.8%) were girls and 466(39.2%) were boys. Associations between sexual initiation and young adolescents’ individual and interpersonal factors were mixed. Sexual initiation was positively associated with age, grade in school, being bullied within school premises, drinking alcohol, and currently smoking cigarettes, but was negatively correlated to electronic vaping and using marijuana. Condom use was associated with age, being bullied on school property, and drinking alcohol. The odds of condom use among adolescents increased by 28% for every one year increase in age (95% CI = 0.07, 0.49) while controlling all other factors, and were higher among those bullied within school premises (AOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 0.22, 0.77), and those who ever drunk alcohol (AOR= 1.78, 95% CI = 0.31, 0.85.) compared with those who never experienced bullying and those who never drunk alcohol respectively. Conclusion: This study suggests that developing strategies to reduce risky sexual behaviors among adolescents should begin early in their development and require attention to individual and interpersonal characteristics and policies within school environments.

This award is funded by Taylor & Francis, publisher of SSSS's Journal of Sex Research. 

Katelyn Regan, LCSW, MEd

(they/them)

Widener University

Mx. Katelyn Regan is a clinical social worker at the Gender & Sexuality Development Clinic at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and works with transgender and gender diverse youth and their families. Katelyn provides individual psychotherapy, conducts comprehensive psychosocial assessments, connects families to trans-competent care close to home, and provides gender-affirming surgery resources and advocacy for the clinic’s 3000+ families. Katelyn also provides education and training to medical, counseling, and education professionals about the complexities of gender identity and how providers can become more inclusive in their respective practices. They are currently working on their dissertation: Evaluating desire for and provision of gender affirming medical care in the nonbinary community: Patient and gender-affirming medical provider perspectives. The goal of this project is to uplift the voices and medical desires of individuals who identify outside of the gender binary and to explore medical providers’ knowledge and comfort in working with nonbinary individuals. Katelyn is passionate about medical advocacy and breaking down barriers to accessing gender-affirming medical care. Their aim is to eventually contribute data from this study to the effort to create gender-affirming medical care protocols that promote the autonomy, health, and wellbeing of nonbinary and genderqueer individuals.

Evaluating Desire for and Provision of Gender Affirming Medical Care in the Nonbinary Community

Patient and gender-affirming medical provider perspectives For individuals who identify as a gender outside of binary conceptions of “man” and “woman” that desire gender-affirming medical care, finding medical support is a challenge. Many gender-affirming medical protocols are binary in scope (social expression of gender, then hormone care, then surgical care), which may not align with the desires of nonbinary and genderqueer (NBGQ) individuals. Few studies explore what medical interventions NBGQ individuals may desire, and even fewer studies discuss whether medical providers feel knowledgeable and/or comfortable providing individualized healthcare plans outside of binary protocols. This is a multiphasic study, and Phase I uses semi-structured zoom interviews to learn what medical interventions are desired/have been accessed by NBGQ individuals and what their experiences have been in attempting to access this care. Phase II is a cross-sectional survey developed from data gathered in phase one to survey gender-affirming medical providers to assess knowledge and comfort of providing care to the NBGQ community outside of current established protocols.

This research will be presented at the 2023 SSSS Annual Conference.

Clark Brinson, MA

Emory University

Clark Brinson has a BA in Psychology and Sexualities Studies, and has received specialized graduate training in African American and African Diaspora Studies. Presently, she is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at Emory University and her broad research focus areas are social inequality and social psychology. Clark’s dissertation explores race, sexuality, and family formation processes, and she is currently completing a paper on the organizational responsiveness of national LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations to queer communities of color.

Planning Our Futures: A Qualitative Study of Family Formation Goals among Black Queer Women in the South

When considering the LGBTQ+ community, Black queer women are some of the most likely to parent and some of the most likely to live in poverty. Yet existing literature on sexual and gender minority family formation processes primarily reflects experiences of socioeconomically advantaged White lesbians and gay men. The limited research on queer women of color families focuses on those who already have children. This study supplements existing literature by examining family formation goals among Southern Black queer women who do not yet have children. This study uses data collected from semi-structured in-depth interviews to address a dearth of research on the ways that Southern Black LGBTQ+ women conceptualize family and the factors that impact plans for parenthood among this group. This study adds new knowledge to a neglected area by helping to understand the desires and needs of Black LGBTQ+ women living in the South as it relates to parenthood, as well as by expanding our general understanding of family formation decision-making processes and how women grapple with the potential of parenthood.

This research will be presented at the 2023 SSSS Annual Conference.

Black Mothers’ Intentions of Talking with Children about Sexuality: A Black Feminist Qualitative Analysis

Shelby Astle, MS; Seanna Leath, PhD; Saidi Moseley, BA; Jayla Simms, BA 

Presented at the Awards Ceremony - Saturday, November 5th at 10:00 AM PDT

Shelby Astle, MS

Shelby Astle, M.S., CFLE is a doctoral candidate in Applied Family Science at Kansas State University. Shelby completed her bachelor’s degree in the mountain west before completing her master’s degree from Kansas State University in Applied Family Science. Shelby’s research interests include parent-child sexual communication and sexual self-concept with an emphasis on helping parents be positive influences on their children’s sexual self-concept development. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, she explores these topics through the lens of critical theories such as Black feminist theory and queer theory. Shelby is currently working to finish her dissertation exploring various facets of parent-child sexual communication among intersex young adults, Black mothers, and survivors of sexual violence. She anticipates graduating with her PhD in Spring 2023.

Jayla Simms, BA

Jayla Simms is pursuing a master's in Couple and Family Therapy at Kansas State University and received her bachelor's of art in Psychology at Truman State University. Her research interests include racial trauma, interracial romantic relationships, and interventions for Black youth. Currently, Jayla is researching the impact of respectability politics and white supremacy culture on Black individuals with anxiety. Jayla plans to work with couples, families, and individuals as a licensed marriage and family therapist. She wants to continue her education and work towards a PhD to do research that centers Black and LGBTQ+ families and youth after gaining more experience as a licensed therapist.





This award is funded by the SSSS JEDI Committee.