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Stephanie A. Sanders, Ph.D. Research Director Senior Scientist Provost Professor of Gender Studies Dr. Stephanie Sanders' research, conducted in the United States and Scandinavia, addresses: sexual behavior; sexuality, sexual identity, and gender relations; sex differentiation; gender difference in psychological and physical development; effects of prenatal hormones and drugs on human development; women's health and well-being, menstruation, menopause, and the life cycle; and biopsychological perspectives on debates in feminist theory. Instructing Gender Studies courses since 1995, her current research analyzes gendered dimensions of scientific research methodologies; the effects of oral contraceptives on sexuality and well-being in women; sexual behavior and risk for sexually transmitted diseases; and the long-term behavioral effects of prenatal exposure to drugs and hormones. Sanders was twice appointed interim director of the Kinsey Institute—first from 1993–95 and again in 2014—and also held the position of associate director. Recently, Sanders recently served as President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, and has been a co-principal investigator on research grants from such agencies as the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Sanders is the research lead on the Marriage Equality Project, which is collecting video and audio interviews with same-sex couples in Indiana who married in the wake of the US Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex unions. This project is being conducted with partnerships from IU Media School, community organizations (including Bloomington Pride and Spencer Pride), and the Kinsey Institute. To Generate Skills of Person Read the provided description of the person and extract a concise list of their skills, presented as distinct bullet points without additional descriptions. Ensure each skill is presented in 2-3 words and include a minimum of 15 skills. If any AI tools or academic tools are mentioned, include them in the skills list. The description is as follows:{Description} To Generate Area of Interest/Expertise of Person Read the provided description of the person and extract a concise list of their area of interest or expertise, presented as distinct bullet points without additional descriptions. The description is as follows: {Description} Dr. Stephanie Ann Sanders, Ph.D., is a prominent academic and researcher specializing in gender studies, sexual health, and reproduction. She is currently serving as the Provost Professor & Peg Zeglin Brand Chair in the Department of Gender Studies and a Senior Scientist at The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, & Reproduction at Indiana University, Bloomington. Her educational journey began at Douglass College, Rutgers University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and Women’s Studies in 1976. She further pursued her interest in psychology, obtaining a Master of Science in Psychology in 1979 and subsequently completing her Ph.D. in Psychology with a focus on Biopsychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in 1984. Dr. Sanders has held several key positions at Indiana University throughout her illustrious career. Since 2019, she has been the Department Chair of Gender Studies, a role that allows her to shape academic programs and contribute to interdisciplinary research in gender and sexuality studies. She has been the Peg Zeglin Brand Chair since 2016 and a Provost Professor since 2014. Her long-standing association with The Kinsey Institute began in 1982, where she has served in various roles including Senior Scientist, Associate Director, and Interim Director. As a Senior Scientist at The Kinsey Institute, Dr. Sanders has played a vital role in advancing research on sex, gender, and reproduction. Her research focuses on various aspects of human sexuality, including condom use and its barriers, sexual behaviors, reproductive health, and gender identity. One of her significant contributions involves understanding factors that impact the correct use of condoms and developing interventions to enhance sexual health practices. Her projects also examine the intersection of gender, sexual orientation, and sexual health, aiming to address disparities and improve health outcomes for marginalized populations. Dr. Sanders’s expertise has attracted numerous research grants and funding awards. She has collaborated on projects funded by prestigious organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and various private foundations. Her projects include research on topics like HIV/STD prevention, sexual behavior assessment, and intervention strategies for promoting safe sexual practices among high-risk groups. Additionally, she has co-led studies exploring the feasibility of expanding HIV testing in rural pharmacies, analyzing the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving condom use among young African American males, and examining how environmental changes impact reproductive health in specific populations. Dr. Sanders is also recognized for her numerous scholarly publications in high-impact journals, contributing to the academic understanding of sexuality and gender from both psychological and social perspectives. Her work has been published in journals such as the Journal of Sexual Medicine, Archives of Sexual Behavior, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Moreover, her efforts have been acknowledged through various awards, including the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS) and the Outstanding Faculty Collaborative Research Award from Indiana University. Beyond her research, Dr. Sanders is a committed educator and mentor, influencing generations of students and researchers in the fields of gender studies and sexual health. Her leadership roles and academic achievements reflect her dedication to advancing knowledge and promoting evidence-based practices to address complex issues related to sexuality, gender, and reproductive health.

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Skills

Experience

Provost Professor, Department Chair, Senior Scientist,

Indiana University (IU)

Mar-1995 to Present
Research Director, Senior Scientist

Kinsey Institute (KI)

Mar-1982 to Mar-2025
Instructor, Psychology

Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Mar-1976 to Mar-1982
Instructor

Manhattanville University (MU)

Mar-1982 to Mar-1982
Family Planning Counselor

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Mar-1975 to Mar-1978

Education

Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Ph.D. in Psychology, Biopsychology

Passout Year: 1984
Rutgers University, New Brunswick

M.S. in Psychology

Passout Year: 1979

Publication

Changes in marital relationships over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective The aim of this study was to document changes in marital relationships over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Background Research has suggested both positive and negative e...

  • dott image September, 2022

Condom Use Errors and Problems Among College Men

Background An essential yet understudied aspect of condom use is whether they are used correctly. Goal The goal of the study was to comprehensively evaluate condom use errors and prob...

  • dott image August, 2022

An exploratory test of a couples-based condom-use intervention designed to promote pleasurable and safer penile–vaginal sex among university student...

Objective: Dual use of male condoms and female contraceptives is widely advocated for unplanned pregnancy prevention, yet college students often neglect condoms. This feasibility and accepta...

Comment on “Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior”

The phenotypic measures used by Ganna et al. (Research Articles, 30 August 2019, p. 882) lump together predominantly heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual individuals, including those who h...

Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior”: Comment

Comments on an article by A. Ganna et al. (see record 2020-15906-001). The phenotypic measures used by Ganna et al. lump together predominantly heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual individ...

  • dott image September, 2020

A home-practice intervention for increasing condom use among university undergraduates

The consistently high rate of sexually transmitted infections among people 18–24 years old warrants novel strategies promoting condom use among large segments of this population. Ample o...

‘What happens in Banff, stays in Banff’: contextual and interpersonal factors contributing to sexual-risk taking among tourism workers

Journal : Tourism Recreation Research 2320-0308

Tourism destinations are contexts which are often characterised by unique norms for social and sexual behaviours which have implications for health and wellbeing. The purpose of this qualita...

A Cross-Country Comparison of Reasons for Condom Use during Menses: Associations with Age and Gender Inequality

Objectives: Despite evidence that menstrual bleeding is a risk factor for sexually transmissible infections, few studies have assessed the prevalence of, and reasons for, condom use during m...

Condoms

Consistent use of the male latex condom is an effective method of reducing the risk of transmitting and acquiring many sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and unintended pregnancy...

Arousal and Arousability

The Sexual Arousability Inventory and the Sexuality Arousability Inventory—Expanded measure sexual arousability and anxiety. Construct validity of the Arousability scale has been demonstra...

Role in Research Journals

Journal Photo

Projects

Oct-2018 to Oct-2019

Marriage Equality: Stories from the Heartland

$24,981

Funded by New Frontiers Program

Marriage Equality: Stories from the Heartland. Role: Principal Investigator with Jenny Bass and Liana Zhou. Funded as a Public Humanities Project by the New Frontiers Program, Office of the President, Indiana University, 2/10/2018-10/31//2019, $24,981. The major goal: This project is designed to capture and analyze the marriage stories of same-sex couples in Indiana and the impact of the recent legal changes on the individual’s sense of citizenship, belonging, and on their own LGBTQ+ relationships as well as public and familial acceptance of such relationships. Funding is used to: (1) to create educational podcasts and informational web-content for the public, and (2) to add to a research archive that can be used by scholars now and in the future.
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Jan-2017 to Dec-2019

Condom Use and Sexual Behaviors When Bleeding and Not Bleeding

Condom Use and Sexual Behaviors When Bleeding and Not Bleeding. Role: Principal Investigator with Kinsey Institute Condom Use Research Team & Virginia Vitzthum (Co-Investigators), Funded by Clue (world’s largest menstrual cycle app), 9/1/2017 – 12/31/2019. The goals was to examine potential differences in condom use and sexual behaviors when women are and are not experiencing menstrual bleeding. Clue collaborated with The Kinsey Institute. We researchers developed the questions for an online questionnaire and are conducting the data analysis. Clue provided advertising through their newsletter to recruit participants, translation of the questionnaire into 10 languages, posting of the questionnaires, and data collection and cleaning. The resulting cleaned database has data from 94,980 participants from 188 countries.
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Jan-2014 to Apr-2019

Population Dynamics in Greenland – A Multi-Component, Mixed-Method Study of Demographic Change in ...

$741,958

Funded by Indiana University

Population Dynamics in Greenland – A Multi-Component, Mixed-Method Study of Demographic Change in the Artic. Role: Co-investigator with PI Virginia Vitzthum (Indiana University-Bloomington) and Elizabeth Rink (Montana State University). Funded by NSF (PLR 1319663), 5/1/14 - 4/30/19, $741,958 total to IU. The major goal: Through a process known as community-based participatory research, the team will work with local residents to develop a research design that targets pressing local isFsues, such as migration and reproductive choices, as well as questions of global significance such as how a changing environment impacts health and reproduction.
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Conference/Seminar/STTP/FDP/Symposium/Workshop

Conference
  • dott image Feb 1999

Sexuality and Disease: Metaphors, Perceptions, and Behavior in the AIDS Era

Hosted By:

Kinsey Institute (KI) ,

Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Conference
  • dott image May 2011

Poster: Privacy and De-Identification in High-Dimensional Social Science Datasets

Hosted By:

IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy ,

Oakland, California, United States
Social scientists often gather large amounts of sensitive data. Unlike some medical-related datasets, these social science datasets tend to be sparse and high-dimensional. This dimensionality increases the possibility that participants in the dataset provide answer patterns that characterize them in unique ways. Although at this stage the vulnerabilities involved remain to be established, it is possible that these unique characterizations enable individuals to be linked to external data in ways that may not have been previously considered. Thus, 'uniquifiability' may increase identifiability, and this may mean that traditional approaches to de-identifying data, such as fulfilling HIPPA requirements, may not be sufficient for preventing the re-identification of participants in large social science datasets. In this project, we evaluate the statistical characteristics of a large social science dataset to better understand how unique features impact privacy. Our preliminary results show that 36% of the participants within the dataset are unique even when considering only one data attribute.
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Membership

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Member, Strategic Positioning Committee

Kinsey Institute (KI)

From year 2006 to 2014

Invited Position

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Invited panelist at the Indiana Sexual Health Summit

Indiana University (IU)

From year 2007 to 2007

Honours & Awards

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Outstanding Faculty Collaborative Research Award
Awarded by:

Indiana University

Year: 2018
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Distinguished Service to SSSS Award
Awarded by:

Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS)

Year: 2014

Doctoral and Master Thesis Guided

Feeding patterns and diet preference of weanling rats fed nutritionally-equivalent cereal- and casein-based diets.
Research Scholar:

Self (M.S. Thesis)

Institute : Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Area of research: Psychological

Disparities in the Use of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARCs): Exploring the Roles of Women’s Preferences and Clinician Behaviors
Research Scholar:

McLanahan, Sara F. (Sociology thesis)

Institute : Princeton University

Area of research: Sociology