معرفی
Kathleen Rodgers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development at Washington State University (WSU), part of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. Her research focuses on adolescent development, risk-taking behaviors, and the intersection of media influence with gender socialization and sexuality. She holds a Ph.D. in Child and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1995) and has held academic and extension roles at WSU since 2003.
Her work examines how community contexts, poverty, and media content shape adolescents' health decisions. Notable projects include studying music and alcohol media's impact on sexual attitudes and the role of parental communication in Tanzania. Collaborations with Dr. Stacey Hust led to innovations in media literacy and gender studies, earning them the 2014 National Council on Family Relations Innovation Grant and the Mary Ann Yodelis Smith Award for Feminist Research.
Key themes in her research include sexual objectification in media, rape myth acceptance, and interventions targeting alcohol-facilitated sexual assault. She has advised numerous graduate students and contributed to community-based initiatives like Youth Asset Mapping and the Teen Assessment Project.
- Education:
- Ph.D. Child and Family Studies, UW-Madison, 1995
- M.S. Child and Family Studies, UW-Madison, 1989
- B.S. Child and Family Studies, Cal Poly, 1983
- Grants & Awards:
- 2014 National Council on Family Relations Innovation Grant
- 2014 AEJMC Feminist Research Award
Her publications span Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and Psychology of Popular Media Culture. She leads interdisciplinary teams exploring media effects on youth behavior and advocates for culturally responsive sexual health education.
