Victim Researcher Profile

BIO

Megan Maas, PhD, is an assistant professor in Human Development & Family Studies at Michigan State University. She received her PhD in 2016 from The Pennsylvania State University as a pre-doctoral fellow funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Her research focuses on the role of media and parenting in the sexual socialization of adolescents. Broadly, she is interested in promoting healthy romantic relationships and sexual competencies and preventing unwanted sexual experiences. However, a special interest is in resiliency and agency among female victims of childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault. She is particularly eager for collaborators in this area. Her NIDA-funded dissertation compared the online sexual experiences of female adolescents who were or were not maltreated in childhood (Maas, Noll, & Bray, 2017). Findings indicated that maltreatment in combination with patterns of online sexual seeking or attracting experiences differentially predicts later HIV risk and Gender-based violence victimization. Megan's collaborations are embedded within the larger network of MSU's Research Consortium on Gender-based Violence. She also collaborates through the CDC-funded McBEE national study of college student sexual assault with partners at the University of Kentucky. A new collaboration has been formed to help create a model of sexual abuse prevention in Michigan through the Traverse Bay Children's Advocacy Center. What is unique about Megan, is her health promotion and education experience prior to academia. Born and raised in California, Megan earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology from California State University, Sacramento. Before coming to Penn State in 2011, Megan worked as a certified sex educator and developed a popular lecture series which integrated peer-reviewed information on pornography use into sexual health behavior for lectures for college students, parents and mental health professionals. Since then, Megan has served as a facilitator, workshop leader, and speaker on issues revolving around adolescent sexuality, sexual socialization, sexual victimization, and parent-child communication about sexuality at universities and organizations across the country. She is passionate about developing trauma-informed positive sex education for female adolescents.

VICTIMIZATION FOCUS

Bullying, Campus Sexual Assault, Child Abuse and Sexual Abuse, Computer/Internet Crimes, Dating Violence (Teen), Domestic and Family Violence, Sexual Abuse or Violence (other than campus sexual assault)

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

Child victims, Urban high crime neighborhood victims

RESEARCH EXPERTISE

Data collection, Program evaluation, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies, Randomized controlled trial

VICTIM RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Descriptive studies, Quantitative studies, Randomized controlled trial