• Homepage - PTSD Funding
    NEWS

    WCW Research Scientist Will Implement PTSD Treatment in University Counseling Centers

    December 2023

    Katherine R. Buchholz, Ph.D., has been approved for a $2.5 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

    Read More>>

  • Homepage - Health Advisory
    NEWS

    Health advisory on social media use in adolescence

    May 2023

    Senior Research Scientist Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., co-authored a health advisory on social media use in adolescence released by the American Psychological Association.

    Read More>>

  • Homepage - Podcast Episode 4
    PODCAST

    Journeys in Youth Development Podcast, Episode 4

    APRIL 2023

    NIOST director Georgia Hall, Ph.D., talks to Terrance Cauley, Senior Director in the Department of Youth, Family & Clinical Services at Better Family Life, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri. Terrance highlights the importance of offering historically marginalized Black youth opportunities for self-definition, and discusses how he does this through his work in out-of-school time programming.

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  • Homepage - Liberia conservation project
    NEWS

    WCW Collaborates on $5 Million Project to Promote Sustainability in Liberia

    February 2023

    WCW will lead the design of a social inclusion strategy to empower women and young people in the Liberian forestry sector.

    Read More>>

  • Homepage - having the talk with teens
    VIDEO

    Having 'The Talk' with Teens

    February 2023

    Jennifer Grossman, Ph.D., shares findings from interviews with fathers about how they try to make conversations with their teens about sex and dating less awkward.

    Watch>>

The

Wellesley Centers for Women 

is a research and action institute at Wellesley College that is focused on women and gender and driven by social change.
Our mission is to advance gender equality, social justice, and human wellbeing through high-quality research, theory, and action programs.

PROJECTS

Ongoing since 2011

Principal Investigator: Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D.

Project Staff: Amanda Richer, M.A., Ineke Ceder, Lisette DeSouza, Ph.D., Alyssa Gramajo

Funded by: Wellesley Centers for Women 35th Anniversary Fund; Robert Wood Johnson New Connections

Participate in the 2020 U.S. Election Survey

The Media & Identity Study is conducting a survey about the 2020 U.S. elections, media use, social issues, and civic engagement. Adults 18 years and older from diverse backgrounds and political beliefs, living anywhere in the world, can participate. Participants will be eligible for $25-50 gift card raffle prizes.

Project Overview

Funded by the Wellesley Centers for Women 35th Anniversary Fund and a Robert Wood Johnson New Connections grant, the Media and Identity Study targeted and recruited diverse, hard-to-reach populations of youth across the U.S. using novel recruitment procedures to understand how media shapes the lives of youth nationwide, particularly through online social networking. The mixed-method online study surveyed over 2,300 young people aged 12-25 in 47 states with 34 follow-up interviews. The project examined the role of televised media, social media, and civic engagement in influencing how young people form their racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, sexual orientation, and political identities.

Civic Engagement - Election Survey Findings

The Media and Identity Study also included surveys of adults to better understand their civic engagement. Surveys were completed before and after the 2016 U.S. Presidential election followed by another survey after the 2018 U.S. mid-term elections. The 2016 surveys were completed by over 1,600 people from across the U.S., aged 18-80+, and revealed a number of findings related to gender, culture, and civic engagement. Survey results from the 2016 surveys indicated that "extremely engaged" social media users tended to also be active in political discussions and arenas offline.

The 2018 survey was completed by a total of 731 people. The respondents were:

  • 60% female, 37% male, and 3% described as transgender or another gender
  • A third were located in the Northeast, 28% were from the South, 26% were from the West, and 13% were located in the Midwest of the U.S.
  • 73% were White, 11% were Asian, 6% were Black, 4% were Hispanic, 4% Biracial, and 2% were Native American
  • Most completed college or more (72%), 21% completed some college and 7% finished high school.
  • 58% reported working full-time, 18% were working part-time, 8% were looking for work, 2% were unable to work, 3% were caregivers, 12% were students, 5% were retired and 2% had another employment status.

Outreach

Media and Identity Study Team Members share findings and discuss the study:

Media and Identity Study Team Members:
Budnampet Ramanudom (Wellesley College graduate)
Brianna Ruffin (Wellesley College graduate)
Katie Madsen (Wellesley College graduate)
Jalena Keane-Lee (Wellesley College graduate)
Huiying Bernice Chan (Wellesley College graduate)
Temple Price (Wellesley College graduate)
Betsy Ericksen (Wellesley College graduate)

For questions, please email Dr. Linda Charmaraman at MediaIdentityProject[at]wcwonline[dot]org.

Connect with the Media and Identity Study on Facebook.

 
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