Laura Widman
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 1566029 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Laura Widman |
| NOMBRES | Laura |
| APELLIDO | Widman |
| FIRMA | WIDMAN L |
| AFILIACIONES | North Carolina State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8117-5467 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 51 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 181 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 51 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2004 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 7 |
Digital Sexual Communication Among Adolescents
Communication with romantic and sexual partners is important for adolescent well-being. Features of digital media, such as limited social cues and asynchronous messaging, transform social interactions, yet the effects of digital affordances on adolescent partner communication remain unclear. In the current study, U.S. adolescents (n = 404, M age = 15) reported the channel(s) of communication (Exclusively In-Person, Exclusively Digital, Both In-Pe…
Strategies to Improve the Sexual and Reproductive Health of Youth Involved with the Child Welfare System
A Digital Program to Promote Sexual Communication Between Early Adolescents and Parents
Family communication about puberty, relationships, and sexuality is an important component of healthy sexual development for early adolescents who are beginning puberty and navigating increased interest in sexual and romantic relationships. Yet sexual communication is difficult for many families. Many sex education books and in-person programs exist, but they are an increasingly outdated form of education in our digital world. To address this gap…
Redefining Father Roles in Family Sexual Health Communication
Objective This study qualitatively investigated fathers' perspectives on family roles and communication related to talking with teens about sex and relationships. Background Father‐teen talk about sex and relationships can protect teens from sexual risk behaviors. However, few studies explore fathers' roles and engagement within family systems to support teens' sexual health and relationships. Method Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with…
Identifying Barriers and Facilitators of Implementing a Sexual and Relationship Health Intervention within the Child Welfare System
Access to sexual health education is critical for the wellbeing of youth in out-of-home care. HEART (Health Education and Relationship Training) is an online, evidence-based sexual health program that may benefit this group of youth, but reaching youth in the child welfare system remains challenging. This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing HEART within the child welfare system. We used a convergent parallel mixed me…
Parents’ attitudes towards the content of sex education in the USA
While most parents support their adolescents receiving school-based sex education, there is variability in which sex education topics receive the most support from parents. Conservative political orientation and greater religiosity have been independently associated with parents’ lack of support for school-based sex education; however, no studies have examined the intersection of these two factors. The three goals of this study were to: 1) identi…
Sexual Consent Cognitions and Consent-Seeking Behaviors Among U.S. Adolescents
Longitudinal Change in Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness and Depressive Symptoms
Online appearance preoccupation may put adolescents at risk of developing mental health challenges, perhaps especially during early-to-middle adolescence. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model assessed within-person associations between appearance-related social media consciousness and depressive symptoms over three time-points with three months between waves. The sample ( n = 1594) included U.S. adolescents aged 11–15 ( M age = 13; 47% gir…
Adolescent Barriers to Sexual Communication with Their Parents
Parent-adolescent sexual communication has important health benefits for adolescents, yet not all families openly communicate about sex. In particular, adolescents often report various barriers to engaging in sexual communication with their parents. The purpose of this study was to address gaps in past research by examining barriers to communication with both mothers and fathers, separately, as well as to explore the unique barriers to communicat…
Sexual self-efficacy and sexual communication among adolescent girls
OBJECTIVE: Guided by the Operating Conditions Framework, the goal of this study was to identify how and for whom an online sexual health program called Health Education and Relationship Training (HEART) worked. DESIGN: Data come from a randomized controlled trial among 198 U.S. high school girls who completed HEART or an attention-matched control. We conducted mediation and moderated mediation models to determine if sexual self-efficacy was a med…
National trends and disparate access to formal and informal sex education among youth involved with the child welfare system in the USA
This study investigated whether youth involved with the child welfare system in the USA are receiving formal and informal sex education. Data come from the Second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing, a nationally representative sample of children and adolescents in contact with child protective services. Participants included young people (n = 1093, aged 11–21) involved with the child welfare system. Participants reported whether th…
Behavioral Measures to Assess Adolescent Sexual Communication with Partners
Sexual communication with partners is important for adolescents’ sexual and socioemotional well-being. Behavioral assessments of partner sexual communication capture the complex and nuanced process of communication and are commonly used with adults, yet the existing literature among adolescents overwhelmingly relies on self-report measures. In the current paper, we reviewed the literature on adolescent partner sexual communication, identifying 14…
Internal Consent, Affirmative External Consent, and Sexual Satisfaction Among Young Adults
Sexual satisfaction is an important part of sexual health. Recently, efforts have been underway to better understand what factors contribute to positive sexual experiences among young adults. One factor may be sexual consent. This study aimed to explore individual and interactive effects of two distinct, but related dimensions of sexual consent – internal consent and affirmative external consent – on young adults’ feelings of sexual satisfaction …
Pact
Understanding affirmative sexual consent is crucial for violence prevention and health promotion, yet few adolescents receive adequate consent education. The current study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a brief online program designed to teach adolescents information and skills about communicating and interpreting affirmative sexual consent (PACT: Promoting Affirmative Consent among Teens) in a randomized controll…
A longitudinal assessment of adolescents’ sexual communication with parents, best friends, and dating partners
Sexual health communication in adolescence is important for sexual well-being. With limited empirical work utilizing longitudinal methodologies, this study aimed to investigate how the frequency of sexual communication with parents, peers, and dating partners changes across adolescence and varies based on sex, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Participants included 886 U.S. adolescents (54.4% females; 45.9% White, 22.6% Hispanic/Latinx, 21.…
How Emotional Shifts Effect Youth Perceptions of Opioid Risk and Efficacy
Integrating the extended parallel process model (EPPM) and the emotional flow hypothesis, we tested the persuasive effect of emotional shifts during exposure to a Know the Truth anti-opioid campaign narrative in a sample of middle-school students (n = 480). Testing two emotional flow sequences (threat to efficacy and efficacy to threat) of the Know the Truth narrative against a static (threat-only) emotional condition, we found that youth exposed…
Longitudinal associations between appearance‐related social media consciousness and adolescents' depressive symptoms
The findings highlight the importance of physical appearance concerns on social media-above and beyond the frequency of use-in the development of depressive symptoms among adolescents. Implications for future research to examine the role of subjective social media experiences in adolescents' depressive symptoms are discussed.
Sexual Communication between Adolescent Partners
Sexual communication between adolescent partners is an important component of sexual health and wellbeing. Over 40 years of research on adolescent sexual communication has yielded rich information, yet there remain gaps in our understanding of the communication process. The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize the body of research on adolescent sexual communication to identify how communication has been conceptualized, how researchers…
Are Feminists Empowered Activists or Entitled Whiners? A Thematic Analysis of U.S. Adolescents’ Definitions of “Feminist” in a Diverse, Mixed-Gender Sample
Selfie appearance investment and peer feedback concern
Sharing "selfies" on social media is common among adolescents. The frequency with which adolescents post selfies may be less important than behaviors and cognitions underlying selfie-posting, and these practices may differ by gender. This multi-method study explored selfie practices in a school-based sample of 639 adolescents ( M age =17.6; 53.5% female). Participants completed self-report measures of selfie practices, body esteem, depressive sym…
Examining the link between sexual self-concept and sexual communication among adolescents
The purpose of this study was to move beyond a sexual risk framework to investigate the possible associations among three sex-positive constructs for adolescents: their sexual self-concept (i.e., their positive/negative feelings about themselves as sexual beings), their sexual communication with romantic/sexual partners, and their sexual communication self-efficacy. We also examined differences in these constructs by sexual intercourse experience…
Identifying gaps in training on sexual health for caregivers of adolescents in foster care
Youth in foster care are a vulnerable group of adolescents that experience worse sexual health outcomes, including higher rates of STIs, HIV, and early and repeat pregnancy, compared to youth not in foster care. Caregivers of youth in foster care may play a critical role in improving the sexual health of youth in their care. However, many caregivers of youth in foster care do not talk to youth about sexual health, and few studies have directly as…
Multilevel Barriers to Sexual Health Behavior Among Vulnerable Adolescent Girls in the USA
The Multidimensionality of Adolescent Girls’ Gender Attitudes
Sexual Communication in the Digital Age
Sexual Communication Between Early Adolescents and Their Dating Partners, Parents, and Best Friends
This study assessed early adolescents' sexual communication with dating partners, parents, and best friends about six sexual health topics: condoms, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), pregnancy, and abstinence/waiting. Using a school-based sample of 603 youth (ages 12 to 15; 57% female; 46% Caucasian), we examined communication differences across demogra…
Gender Differences in Parents’ Communication With Their Adolescent Children about Sexual Risk and Sex-Positive Topics
A healthy sexual self-concept that captures an understanding of the risky and the positive aspects of sexuality is imperative to life-long well-being. Parents have a unique opportunity to instill knowledge of sexual risk as well as confidence and comfort around sexuality in their adolescents. Although parent-child communication about sexual risk is fairly common, less is known regarding the frequency of parent-child communication about sex-positi…
Kissing is good
Sexual Communication in the Digital Age
Understanding Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Affirmative Consent
A clear understanding of sexual consent is important for sexual violence prevention. To date, most research has focused on how college students understand and negotiate consent. Although adolescence is a critical period for the development of sexual attitudes, identity, and intimate relationships, the perspectives of high school-aged youth have been largely absent from the consent literature. The current study investigated adolescents' attitudes …
Adolescents misperceive and are influenced by high-status peers’ health risk, deviant, and adaptive behavior
Most peer influence research examines socialization between adolescents and their best friends. Yet, adolescents also are influenced by popular peers, perhaps due to misperceptions of social norms. This research examined the extent to which out-group and in-group adolescents misperceive the frequencies of peers' deviant, health risk, and adaptive behaviors in different reputation-based peer crowds (Study 1) and the prospective associations betwee…
The Implications of Sexual Narcissism for Sexual and Marital Satisfaction
Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of a Brief Online Sexual Health Program for Adolescents
This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a 45-minute interactive, online sexual health program for adolescents, called Health Education and Relationship Training (HEART). The program was originally developed and evaluated among adolescent girls (HEART for Girls); the current project describes and evaluates a new version of the program that was adapted for boys and girls. Participants were 226 high school st…
Is Regulatory Focus Related to Condom Use, STI/HIV Testing, and Sexual Satisfaction
Regulatory focus theory contends that when making decisions people are either more inclined to focus on avoiding negative consequences (more prevention-focused) or achieving pleasurable outcomes (more promotion-focused). Some research suggests that regulatory focus is related to health behaviors, although this has not been thoroughly investigated in the sexual health domain. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between regula…
Camera-ready
Experimentally measured susceptibility to peer influence and adolescent sexual behavior trajectories
A performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility was examined as a moderator of the longitudinal association between peer norms and trajectories of adolescents' number of sexual intercourse partners. Seventy-one 9th grade adolescents (52% female) participated in an experimental "chat room" paradigm involving "e-confederates" who endorsed sexual risk behaviors. Changes in participants' responses to risk scenarios before versus during t…
Sexual Narcissism and the Perpetration of Sexual Aggression
Technology‐Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships
This study investigated longitudinal associations between adolescents' technology-based communication and the development of interpersonal competencies within romantic relationships. A school-based sample of 487 adolescents (58% girls; M age = 14.1) participated at two time points, one year apart. Participants reported (1) proportions of daily communication with romantic partners via traditional modes (in person, on the phone) versus technologica…
They See Sex as Something That’s Reproductive and Not as Something People Do for Fun”
Theorists suggest that adolescent girls’ sexual socialization can influence sexual risk reduction and positive sexuality development, although adolescent girls’ positive sexuality development is understudied. In this study, we applied a sex-positive framework to explore sexual socialization experiences among a sample of adolescent girls of color recruited from community-based organizations that serve youth with heightened needs ( n = 50; M age = …
Sexual Narcissism and Infidelity in Early Marriage
Pact
Understanding affirmative sexual consent is crucial for violence prevention and health promotion, yet few adolescents receive adequate consent education. The current study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a brief online program designed to teach adolescents information and skills about communicating and interpreting affirmative sexual consent (PACT: Promoting Affirmative Consent among Teens) in a randomized controll…
Are Feminists Empowered Activists or Entitled Whiners? A Thematic Analysis of U.S. Adolescents’ Definitions of “Feminist” in a Diverse, Mixed-Gender Sample
Examining the Roles of Self-Objectification and Appearance Expectations in Young Women’s Indoor Tanning Behavior
When do condom use intentions lead to actions? Examining the role of sexual communication on safer sexual behavior among people living with HIV
This study investigated the moderating role of sexual communication in the association between intentions to use condoms and unprotected sex in a sample of 358 individuals living with HIV (233 men, 125 women, M age = 43). Longitudinal analyses revealed a significant interaction between condom intentions and sexual communication: individuals who were high in both condom intentions and safer sex communication engaged in less unprotected sex with al…
Adolescent Barriers to Sexual Communication with Their Parents
Parent-adolescent sexual communication has important health benefits for adolescents, yet not all families openly communicate about sex. In particular, adolescents often report various barriers to engaging in sexual communication with their parents. The purpose of this study was to address gaps in past research by examining barriers to communication with both mothers and fathers, separately, as well as to explore the unique barriers to communicat…
The Multidimensionality of Adolescent Girls’ Gender Attitudes
Safer Sex Communication and Sexual Health Behaviors Among a Representative Statewide Sample of Homeless Adolescents
Homeless adolescents are at substantial risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and unplanned pregnancy; however, little research has assessed factors, such as safer sex communication, that may protect homeless adolescents against these negative outcomes. Using the 2015 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS; unweighted N = 5,486; ages 12 to 18; 5% homeless), we compared homeless adolesce…
An online growth mindset intervention in a sample of rural adolescent girls
BackgroundStudents living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational attainment than their suburban counterparts. Innovative interventions are needed to close this educational achievement gap.AimsWe investigated whether an online growth mindset intervention could be leveraged to promote academic outcomes.SampleWe tested the mindset intervention in a sample of 222 10th-grade adolescent girls (M age = 15.2; 38% White, 2…
Multilevel Barriers to Sexual Health Behavior Among Vulnerable Adolescent Girls in the USA
Sexual Assertiveness Skills and Sexual Decision-Making in Adolescent Girls
Objectives. To evaluate the efficacy of an interactive, Web-based sexual health program (Health Education and Relationship Training [HEART]) for developing sexual assertiveness skills and enhancing sexual decision-making in adolescent girls. Methods. Participants were 222 tenth-grade girls (mean age = 15.2; 38% White, 29% Hispanic, 25% Black) in the Southeastern United States who were randomized in fall 2015 to the HEART intervention or an attent…
Physical Activity and Quality of Life
In the present study, the authors investigated the impact of exercise frequency, intensity, and volume along with exercise motives on quality of life (QOL) reports. The authors assessed exercise habits with the Godin Leisure Time Activity Scale and measured exercise motives with the Reasons for Exercise Inventory. The Quality of Life Inventory assessed satisfaction in 16 domains including health, work, and recreation. High-frequency exercisers re…
Kissing is good
Sexual Narcissism and the Perpetration of Sexual Aggression
Do Safer Sex Self-Efficacy, Attitudes toward Condoms, and HIV Transmission Risk Beliefs Differ among Men who Have Sex with Men, Heterosexual Men, and Women Living with HIV
Serostatus disclosure to sexual partners among people living with HIV
HIV serostatus disclosure among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is an important component of preventing HIV transmission to sexual partners. Due to barriers like stigma, however, many PLWHA do not disclose their serostatus to all sexual partners. This study explored differences in HIV serostatus disclosure based on sexual behavior subgroup (men who have sex with men [MSM]; heterosexual men; and women), characteristics of the sexual relationsh…
Sexual Communication Between Early Adolescents and Their Dating Partners, Parents, and Best Friends
This study assessed early adolescents' sexual communication with dating partners, parents, and best friends about six sexual health topics: condoms, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), pregnancy, and abstinence/waiting. Using a school-based sample of 603 youth (ages 12 to 15; 57% female; 46% Caucasian), we examined communication differences across demogra…
The Implications of Sexual Narcissism for Sexual and Marital Satisfaction
On the Relationship Between Automatic Attitudes and Self-Reported Sexual Assault in Men
When do condom use intentions lead to actions? Examining the role of sexual communication on safer sexual behavior among people living with HIV
This study investigated the moderating role of sexual communication in the association between intentions to use condoms and unprotected sex in a sample of 358 individuals living with HIV (233 men, 125 women, M age = 43). Longitudinal analyses revealed a significant interaction between condom intentions and sexual communication: individuals who were high in both condom intentions and safer sex communication engaged in less unprotected sex with al…
Experimentally measured susceptibility to peer influence and adolescent sexual behavior trajectories
A performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility was examined as a moderator of the longitudinal association between peer norms and trajectories of adolescents' number of sexual intercourse partners. Seventy-one 9th grade adolescents (52% female) participated in an experimental "chat room" paradigm involving "e-confederates" who endorsed sexual risk behaviors. Changes in participants' responses to risk scenarios before versus during t…
Adolescents misperceive and are influenced by high-status peers’ health risk, deviant, and adaptive behavior
Most peer influence research examines socialization between adolescents and their best friends. Yet, adolescents also are influenced by popular peers, perhaps due to misperceptions of social norms. This research examined the extent to which out-group and in-group adolescents misperceive the frequencies of peers' deviant, health risk, and adaptive behaviors in different reputation-based peer crowds (Study 1) and the prospective associations betwee…
Sexual Narcissism and Infidelity in Early Marriage
Parent-Adolescent Sexual Communication and Adolescent Safer Sex Behavior
IMPORTANCE: Parent-adolescent sexual communication has received considerable attention as a factor that can positively affect safer sex behavior among youth; however, the evidence linking such communication to youth contraceptive and condom use has not been empirically synthesized. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of parent-adolescent sexual communication on safer sex behavior among youth and explore potential moderators of this association. DAT…
Technology‐Based Communication and the Development of Interpersonal Competencies Within Adolescent Romantic Relationships
This study investigated longitudinal associations between adolescents' technology-based communication and the development of interpersonal competencies within romantic relationships. A school-based sample of 487 adolescents (58% girls; M age = 14.1) participated at two time points, one year apart. Participants reported (1) proportions of daily communication with romantic partners via traditional modes (in person, on the phone) versus technologica…
Camera-ready
Examining the Roles of Self-Objectification and Appearance Expectations in Young Women’s Indoor Tanning Behavior
Sexual Assertiveness Skills and Sexual Decision-Making in Adolescent Girls
Objectives. To evaluate the efficacy of an interactive, Web-based sexual health program (Health Education and Relationship Training [HEART]) for developing sexual assertiveness skills and enhancing sexual decision-making in adolescent girls. Methods. Participants were 222 tenth-grade girls (mean age = 15.2; 38% White, 29% Hispanic, 25% Black) in the Southeastern United States who were randomized in fall 2015 to the HEART intervention or an attent…
An online growth mindset intervention in a sample of rural adolescent girls
BackgroundStudents living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational attainment than their suburban counterparts. Innovative interventions are needed to close this educational achievement gap.AimsWe investigated whether an online growth mindset intervention could be leveraged to promote academic outcomes.SampleWe tested the mindset intervention in a sample of 222 10th-grade adolescent girls (M age = 15.2; 38% White, 2…
Gender Differences in Parents’ Communication With Their Adolescent Children about Sexual Risk and Sex-Positive Topics
A healthy sexual self-concept that captures an understanding of the risky and the positive aspects of sexuality is imperative to life-long well-being. Parents have a unique opportunity to instill knowledge of sexual risk as well as confidence and comfort around sexuality in their adolescents. Although parent-child communication about sexual risk is fairly common, less is known regarding the frequency of parent-child communication about sex-positi…
Safer Sex Communication and Sexual Health Behaviors Among a Representative Statewide Sample of Homeless Adolescents
Homeless adolescents are at substantial risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and unplanned pregnancy; however, little research has assessed factors, such as safer sex communication, that may protect homeless adolescents against these negative outcomes. Using the 2015 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS; unweighted N = 5,486; ages 12 to 18; 5% homeless), we compared homeless adolesce…
Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of a Brief Online Sexual Health Program for Adolescents
This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a 45-minute interactive, online sexual health program for adolescents, called Health Education and Relationship Training (HEART). The program was originally developed and evaluated among adolescent girls (HEART for Girls); the current project describes and evaluates a new version of the program that was adapted for boys and girls. Participants were 226 high school st…
Preliminary Evaluation of a Prescription Opioid Misuse Prevention Program Among Rural Middle School Students
Adolescent opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose have emerged as national health crises. Nearly 17% of high school students have misused prescription opioids. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reach and acceptability of a widely-used prescription opioid misuse prevention program, This Is (Not) About Drugs© ( TINAD ), and its preliminary efficacy at improving opioid misuse knowledge, opioid misuse attitudes, self-efficacy to avoid opi…
Depressive symptoms among mostly heterosexual adolescents
Background Mostly heterosexual adolescents experience heightened depressive symptoms compared to heterosexual adolescents, though prior comparisons with other sexual minority adolescents have been inconsistent and rarely used a comprehensive measure of sexual orientation.Method U.S. high school adolescents were considered mostly heterosexual if they either (a) self-identified as mostly heterosexual or (b) identified as heterosexual but reported s…
Understanding Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Affirmative Consent
A clear understanding of sexual consent is important for sexual violence prevention. To date, most research has focused on how college students understand and negotiate consent. Although adolescence is a critical period for the development of sexual attitudes, identity, and intimate relationships, the perspectives of high school-aged youth have been largely absent from the consent literature. The current study investigated adolescents' attitudes …
Selfie appearance investment and peer feedback concern
Sharing "selfies" on social media is common among adolescents. The frequency with which adolescents post selfies may be less important than behaviors and cognitions underlying selfie-posting, and these practices may differ by gender. This multi-method study explored selfie practices in a school-based sample of 639 adolescents ( M age =17.6; 53.5% female). Participants completed self-report measures of selfie practices, body esteem, depressive sym…
Psychology (45 obras) · Developmental psychology (34 obras) · Social Psychology (33 obras) · Medicine (30 obras) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (28 obras) · Clinical Psychology (27 obras) · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology (24 obras) · Social Psychology (20 obras) · Population (16 obras) · Clinical Psychology (15 obras)