By Katrina Hunter | April 25, 2017
Research Assistant, ETR
I was in a college calculus course. We were learning how to use quadrants and angles to solve functions.
People can either solve the function visually, or by calculating out their answer. As we were going through different problems, I was using the visual method to solve the function. My instructor commented that it was good that I could solve the equation that way, and that it was rare for women to be able to visualize the solutions.
By Emily Green, MA | March 30 2017
Research Assistant, ETR
There is something about being a teacher that you carry with you, even if you transition to something else. I didn’t expect to become a K-12 science teacher, but I loved doing it. Now, I find myself being a teacher in everything I do. It gets into your blood. It changes the way you think. And I cannot thank my students enough for changing me in this way.
By Elizabeth McDade-Montez, PhD | March 28, 2017
Senior Research Associate, ETR
TV is not what it used to be. Over the past decade, we have seen a range of new methods of content delivery (Netflix, AmazonVideo, Hulu), new ways of watching (bingeing on favorites, catching short segments on YouTube, checking out cute kittens suggested by friends on Facebook), and new ways of calculating ratings.
Unfortunately, although television platforms have clearly modernized over time, television themes and stereotypes around gender and sexuality have not.
By ETR | March 23, 2017
ETR’s Dr. Karin Coyle is stepping into a different role. She’s our new Chief Science Officer. This appointment has our entire Science Department looking to the future with excitement.
By Gina Lepore, MEd | March 16, 2017
Research Associate, ETR
This saying is usually credited to Oscar Wilde, probably erroneously, but I love it anyway! It brings home an essential truth. When we talk about norms related to sex and sexual consent, we are often actually talking about norms related to power.
Note: Gina Lepore is lead author on ETR’s recently released supplement, Teaching Affirmative Consent: Practical Guidelines to Increase Student Understanding. This post is adapted from background material for educators that will be included in the new supplement.
By Janine Saunders, EdD, MPH | February 21, 2017
Program Manager, ETR
Neil deGrasse Tyson famously said, "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it." During this time of fake news and alternative facts, promoting science-based approaches is more important than ever. If you’re like me, you encounter people every day who, knowingly or unknowingly, are making decisions based on false information.
By Pamela Anderson, PhD | February 9, 2017
Senior Research Associate, ETR
I’m having a sentimental parent moment. Our three-year-old is looking at the iPad. She is trying to defy gravity by watching her show upside down. The iPad falls on her face. She falls off the couch and hits the floor.
Our almost-seven-year-old immediately sprints over to help and console her sister.
By Karin Coyle, PhD | December 19, 2016
Senior Research Associate, ETR
ETR is delighted to announce the release of our report on the 2016 Kirby Summit. If you work with adolescents to address sexual and reproductive health, I strongly encourage you to check it out.
Here’s why. We deliberately designed this invited Summit to challenge and disrupt what we thought we knew about adolescent health behaviors.
Peterson AJ, Coyle KK, Guinosso SA, Christopher DE, and Charles VE. Sex and the teen brain: Disrupting what we think we know. Scotts Valley, CA: ETR Associates, 2016.
By BA Laris, MPH | December 13, 2016
Research Associate, ETR | Personal pronouns: She, her, hers
We were excited for the much-anticipated release of The National Center for Transgender Equality’s new 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Report.
By Beverly Iniguez-Conrique | November 21, 2016
Research Assistant, ETR
I was three and a half years old on my first day of school. On that crisp September morning, my mother woke up early to dress me and walk me over to the local elementary school.
This was a special moment for my mom. She never had the chance to attend college or immerse herself in her education.
By Vignetta Charles, PhD | November 15, 2016
Chief Science Officer, ETR
ETR is thrilled to see a new article, just released today. It is published by our close colleague, Dr. John Santelli, and his team at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. The Santelli team’s comprehensive work demonstrates that when we narrow income inequality and increase opportunities for education, we positively affect youth health and wellbeing. The study explicitly links increases in investment in education to declines in teen childbearing.
Santelli JS, Song X, Garbers S, Sharma V, Viner RM (2016). Global trends in adolescent fertility, 1990-2012, in relation to national wealth, income inequalities, and educational expenditures. Journal of Adolescent Health. In press. Published online (15 November 2016).
By ETR | November 4, 2016
Two heads are better than one! It’s an old but familiar adage. We have an updated version we’d like to suggest: two contraceptives are better than one.
ETR researchers have just published an article in The Journal of Primary Prevention that examines the frequency of dual contraceptive use among youth in alternative schools. Information about this population is particularly important because they are more likely than other youth to engage in risky sexual behaviors. To date, there has been no research examining dual use contraception in this group.
Coyle, K.C., Peterson, A.J., Franks, H.M., Anderson, P.M., Glassman, J.R. (2016). Dual contraceptive method use among youth in alternative schools. The Journal of Primary Prevention 37(5). Published online October 31, 2016.
By Lanz Lowen, MS, MA and Blake Spears, MBA | November 2, 2016
Senior Consultant, The Mandana Group and Independent Healthcare Consultant
What are the relationships of young gay men like today? It can be surprisingly difficult to answer this question with confidence. Little research is being done on gay male couples—how they build and sustain their relationships, what they think about monogamy and marriage, what they believe about the attitudes of their peers.
This year, we completed our Choices study, which focused on gay men ages 18-40 and explored attitudes and practices about monogamy and marriage.