Media are central in the lives of young adults, yet the impact of media on sexual and relationship health is often overlooked. From music to social media to pornography, media messages often communicate unhealthy, inaccurate, and incomplete messages about sex and relationships which contributes to negative health outcomes.

One evidence-based strategy to combat the potential negative effects of media and promote young adults’ health is to provide interventions that are grounded in media literacy education (MLE). MLE aims to enhance critical thinking about media messages related to health behaviors as well as provide medically accurate information about health that is frequently left out of media messages.

As part of this webinar, participants will: 1) learn how media impact young adults’ sexual health and relationships, 2) review and practice the foundational principles and skills of media literacy education, and 3) learn about Media Aware—an evidence-based, online sexual health intervention for young adults that is grounded in MLE.

Featuring:
Christina V. Dodson, Research Scientist at innovation Research & Training (iRT).
Dr. Dodson has worked on the development and evaluation of the Media Aware programs, which use media literacy education (MLE) to promote sexual and relationship health among adolescents and young adults. Dr. Dodson is also Co-Investigator on a project to develop and evaluate Media Aware Parent, a web-based MLE program designed to enhance parent-teen communication about sexual health. Her work has been published in academic journals and presented at national and international conferences. Dr. Dodson also has over twelve years of professional experience in advertising and consumer research.

Reina Evans-Paulson, Research Scientist at innovation Research & Training (iRT).
Dr. Evans-Paulson works at the intersection of social, health, and community psychology. The broad goal of her research is to improve the sexual wellbeing of youth through applied psychological research with direct implications for intervention, practice, and policy. She conducts this research with a focus on implementation and evaluation of sexual health interventions, parent and family influences on adolescent sexuality, and sexual communication. Dr. Evans-Paulson is currently working as the Project Director on an NIH-funded study to evaluate Media Aware—a media literacy-based sexual health education program—among community college students. Dr. Evans-Paulson has published in esteemed peer-reviewed journals such as JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Sex Research, and Pediatrics.