Laura Widman, PhD
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
AREA COORDINATOR, APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Dr. Widman's research focuses primarily on adolescent sexual health, sexual communication processes, and the primary prevention of HIV, other STDs, and unintended pregnancy. Dr. Widman's goal is to apply psychological theories and sexual health principles to contribute to basic social science and behavioral interventions that improve the sexual health of youth.
Current Projects
If you are interested in using HEART, please contact Dr. Widman: lmwidman@ncsu.edu
HEART (Health Education and Relationship Training). HEART is an interactive, web-based sexual health program for high school students. Grounded in psychological and health behavior change theories, the purpose of this 45-minute program is to increase adolescents’ motivation and skills to engage in safer sexual behavior. The web program has five modules to enhance five areas of sexual decision-making: 1) health-related motivation, 2) HIV/STI knowledge, 3) self-efficacy, 4) social norms, and 5) sexual communication skills. Within each module, material is presented using brief bulleted text with matching audio, along with engaging features such as audio and video clips, interactive information sheets, quizzes, games, and skill-building exercises. We developed the "HEART for girls" in 2014 and adapted it for all teens ("HEART for teens") in 2017. Then in 2019, we reprogrammed HEART with an updated color scheme and more animated features. We have evaluated HEART among 3 samples of high school students and a sample of girls with emotional and behavior difficulties (see publications page for the full text of these evaluation studies). We are currently adapting this program for youth in the NC foster care system. In the coming years, we will continue to enhance the program and work on broader implementation.
Project Heart was funded by NIH/NICHD (K99/R00 HD075654, PI: Widman) as well as an F31 training grant to Dr. Julia Brasileiro (F31 MH126763).
If you are interested in testing
Let's Talk, please contact Dr. Widman: lmwidman@ncsu.edu
Let's Talk. Our team is working in partnership with Teen Health Research (teenhealthresearch.com) to develop an app called Let's Talk. The goal of this app is to help parents and kids ages 10-13 talk openly about bodies, sexuality, and relationships. In 2024, there should be no need for parents to purchase a book about "the birds and the bees" and slide it awkwardly under child's door. We are developing an engaging, easy-to-use app to shift mindsets about relationship and sex education while enhancing communication skills and providing a new platform for these conversations.
We have funding to develop the initial version on this app from NIH. In summer/fall 2024 we will be testing the app with families across the US to determine it's usability, acceptability, and helpfulness. We also have plans to adapt this app for Spanish-speaking families.
Let's Talk is funded by NIH/NICHD (R41 HD112212, PI: Widman)
Meta-Analysis Projects. Our research team is actively involved in reviewing and synthesizing the literature on adolescent sexual health. A few examples of the meta-analyses from our team are as follows (click any topic for the full paper):
-Associations between partner sexual communication and adolescent condom use (2014)
-Associations between parent-child sexual communication and safer sex (2016)
-Effectiveness of technology-based sexual health programs for youth (2018)
-Effectiveness of parent-based interventions for adolescent sexual health (2019)
-Effectiveness of sexual health programs for Black adolescents (2020)
In addition, our team is currently meta-analyzing the literature on psychosocial correlates of condom use among adolescents. We are synthesizing data from more than 280 studies and over 250,000 adolescents for this project. Results will be available in fall 2024.
More meta-analyses are planned for the coming year!
Current Meta-analyses projects are funded by NIH/NICHD (R03 HD105784; PI: Widman and F31 HD114366; PI McCrimmon)
Past Projects
If you are interested in using PACT, please contact Dr. Hannah Javidi: hsjavidi@iu.edu
PACT (Promoting Affirmative Consent among Teens) is a digital sexual health intervention aimed at teaching adolescents about affirmative sexual consent. This program was created by Dr. Hannah Javidi, a recent PhD graduate of the Teen Health Lab. This program is divided into about 10 minutes’ worth of informational videos about the basics of affirmative consent, debunking consent myths, identifying coercion, and checking in with a partner, followed by another 10 minutes’ worth of interactive activities for youth to practice the skills they had just learned. Program content was grounded in theories of health behavior change and persuasion, and designed with help from teens in usability testing sessions and informal young adult advisors. PACT was evaluated for the first time in Fall 2021 in a randomized controlled trial with a national sample of over 800 adolescents. The program was found generally acceptable and was shown to be effective in improving affirmative consent knowledge and attitudes among teens at immediate post-test, as well as significantly improving their confidence in their own ability to communicate consent affirmatively in practice.
Laura and John Arnold Foundation Grant. This study is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing the HEART sexual health intervention to Healthy Minds, a growth mindset intervention for high school students designed to reduce rates of depression. In Fall 2019, we recruiting approximately 450 students from 4 North Carolina high schools to participate in this study. Students were assessed at pre-test and immediate post-test after completing either the HEART program or the Healthy Minds program. We planned to follow these youth at 12-months and 18-months to determine the longer term impact of these programs, but was halted due to COVID.
Teen Health Studies. Our lab has a number of ongoing projects related to teen health. For example, we have collected data from over 1000 parents with a child between the age of 13-17 to assess parent-child sexual communication and parental attitudes about sex education. Analyses from that project are ongoing.
Video Abstracts of our Work
A Qualitative Examination of Factors Impacting Foster Youths' Sexual Health and Sexuality
Identifying Gaps in Foster Parents Training on Adolescent Sexual Health
Intervention Development and Acceptability of the Redeveloped HEART Program
Teen Health Studies. Our lab has a number of ongoing projects related to teen health, including some recent work to tackle the opioid crisis among rural youth. We partnered with a local school district to deliver and evaluate "This is (Not) About Drugs", an opioid misuse prevention program to nearly 700 seventh grade students in Fall 2018 and Spring 2019. Initial results are promising - after taking the program, students scored significantly higher on knowledge about opioids, perceived ability to resist peer pressure around opioids, and confidence to avoid opioid misuse in the future. Next steps for us include conducting qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, and adapting the program/developing new program materials in the long term.
We have also collected data from over 900 parents with a child between the age of 13-17 to assess parent-child sexual communication and parental attitudes about sex education. Analyses from that project are ongoing.