Jennifer L Stevens Aubrey

Interests

Research

Media effects and the individual, specifically the impact of the media on adolescents’ sexual socialization and health, perceptions of romance, body image, and gender-role attitudes.

Teaching

Media literacy, media effects, mass communication theory, children and the media, and quantitative research methods.

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Chapters

• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., Dajches, L., & Terán, L. (2021). Media as a source of sexual socialization for emerging adults: A review of evidence from content analyses and effects studies of TV/films, music/music videos, and pornography.. In Sexuality in Emerging Adulthood(pp pp. 312–332). Oxford University Press.
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Roberts, L. (2020). Effects of media use on development of gender role beliefs (includes responses to counter-stereotypical depictions).. In The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology. J. Wiley & Sons, Inc. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0081
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Yan, K. (2020). Gender-based media stereotypes and their effects on audiences: The more gender changes, the more media representation stays the same. In Media Stereotypes: From Ageism to Xenophobia(pp 73-92). Peter Lang.
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Roberts, L. (2019). The dark-side gateway of self-objectification: Examining the media’s role in the development of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. In Dark Side of Media and Technology(pp 85-105). New York, NY: Peter Lang. doi:https://doi.org/10.3726/b14959
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Terán, L. (2019). Be Your Selfie!: Examining the links between selfie posting, editing, and investment on trait self-objectification and negative body emotions. In Race/Gender/Class/Media: Considering Diversity Across Audiences, Content, and Producers. Boston, MA: Pearson.
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Gamble, H. (2017). Media influence on sexuality and sexual health. In International Encyclopedia of Media Effects. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Gamble, H. (2014). Sex, romance, and media: Taking stock of two research literatures. In Media and Social Life(pp 121-141). New York: Routledge.

Journals/Publications

• Aubrey, J. S., Yan, K., Terán, L., & Roberts, L. (2020). The Heterosexual Script on Tween, Teen, and Young-Adult Television Programs: A Content Analytic Update and Extension. Journal of Sex Research, 57(9), 1134-1145. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.1699895
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  In a well-cited 2007 paper in , Kim and colleagues proposed and documented a heterosexual script on primetime television. In the present study, we provide a 15-year update on the portrayal of the heterosexual script, and we further examine how it relates to three contextual variables: target age of the audience, age of the characters, and relational context of the script. Drawing from a 2016 sample of television programs that featured tween, teen, or young-adult characters, we documented three complementary sexual scripts: the sexual double standard (sexuality is equated with masculinity, women's virtue is tied to their sexuality), commitment (men avoid commitment, women seek it), and homophobia (men must avoid homosexuality, female homosexuality is voyeuristically appealing to men). Like the Kim et al. study, the dominant heterosexual script was sex as masculinity; this script was equally represented in tween, teen, and young-adult shows. The second most common script was that men prioritize sex over commitment, followed by the notion that women's virtue is tied to their sexuality. The commitment scripts were most often invoked by young-adult and adult characters, while the sexual double standard scripts were more pronounced in hookups than in committed relationships.
• Aubrey, J. S., Pitts, M. J., Lutovsky, B. R., Jiao, J., Yan, K., & Stanley, S. J. (2020). Investigating Disparities by Sex and LGBTQ Identity: A Content Analysis of Sexual Health Information on College Student Health Center Websites. Journal of Health Communication, 25(7), 584-593.
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  Student Health Centers (SHCs) are important resources on U.S. college campuses. In light of recent calls for creating more opportunities for health care services to young men and sexual/gender minorities, this content analytic study evaluated how sexual health information and resources are communicated on SHC websites. Utilizing a stratified random sample of 400 U.S. colleges/universities, we assessed how often sexual health is explicitly labeled for particular groups, the types of sexual health topics on SHC websites, the depth of sexual health information, and the sexual health resources offered on SHC websites. Our findings revealed that women's health webpages far outnumbered men's health webpages, sexual health topics were more common on women's health webpages, and sexual health topics were covered at greater depth on women's health webpages compared to men's health webpages. Similar disparities were found for sexual/gender minorities. General sexual health webpages on SHC websites addressed significantly more sexual health topics in greater depth and offered more sexual health resources than LGBTQ health webpages. The practical implications for college student health and potential health disparities are discussed.
• Aubrey, J. S., Speno, A. G., & Gamble, H. (2020). Appearance Framing versus Health Framing of Health Advice: Assessing the Effects of a YouTube Channel for Adolescent Girls. Health Communication, 35(3), 384-394.
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  The present experimental study tested the effects of appearance framing of health advice on adolescent girls' state self-objectification, appearance anxiety, and preference for appearance-enhancing products. The stimuli consisted of informative YouTube-style videos about doing yoga, drinking water, or using sunscreen, and these videos were either appearance-framed (experimental condition) or health-framed (control condition). In total, 154 adolescent girls ( = 15.67,  = 1.07) participated in the experiment. The effect of appearance-framed videos on state self-objectification scores was moderated by age, such that the effect of viewing the appearance-framed videos positively predicted state self-objectification among the younger adolescents. In addition, self-objectification mediated the effect of condition on appearance anxiety and on their appearance-enhancing product preferences, again with the predicted effects supported for the younger adolescents in the sample.
• Dajches, L., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2020). Defining the relationship: An examination of sexual behaviors and relational contexts across tween, teen, and young adult U.S. television. Communication Reports, 23(2), 136-147. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/08934215.2020.1803389
• Rousseau, A., Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Eggermont, S. (2020). The impact of sports magazine consumption on mesomorphic body standards and self-sexualizing behaviors: A panel study of preadolescent boys.. Men and Masculinities, 23(2), 368-394. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X18767224
• Teran, L., Jiao, J., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2020). The relational burden of objectification: Exploring the roles of interpersonal sexual objectification and self-objectification on relationship competence. Sex Roles, 343-360. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2019.1697319
• Terán, L., Yan, K., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2020). “But first let me take a selfie”: U.S. adolescent girls’ selfie activities, self-objectification, imaginary audience beliefs, and appearance concerns.. Journal of Children and Media, 14(3), 343-360. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2019.1697319
• Bond, B. J., Miller, B., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2019). Sexual references and consequences for heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters on television: A comparison content analysis.. Mass Communication and Society, 22, 72-95. doi:doi: 10.1080/15205436.2018.1489058
• Stanley, S. J., Yan, K., Jiao, J., Lutovsky, B., Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Pitts, M. J. (2019). Communicating about sex when it matters: A content analytic investigation of sexual health information on college student health center websites.. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 47, 591-610. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2019.1675895
• Gerding Speno, A., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2019). Adolescent sexting: An examination of the roles of self-objectification and internalization of media ideals. Psychology of Women Quartlery, 43(1), 88-104. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/0361684318809383
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  Impact factor: 2.973
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., Click, M., & Behm-Morawitz, E. (2018). The Twilight of youth: Understanding feminism and romance in Twilight Moms’ connection to the young-adult vampire series. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 7(1), 61-71. doi:10.1037/ppm0000127
• Behm-Morawitz, E., Stevens Aubrey, J. L., Pennell, H., & Kim, K. (2019). Examining the effects of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant on adolescent girls’ sexual health: The implications of media affinity, pregnancy risk factors, and health literacy on message effectiveness. Health Communication, 34, 180-190. doi:10.1080/10410236.2017
• Hahn, R., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2018). The tween television diet: A content analysis of tween program food references. Journal of Children and Media, 12, 175-191. doi:10.1080/17482798.2017.1405830
• Mbure, W., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2017). A transnational analysis of skin tone ideals in cosmetic advertisements in women’s lifestyle magazines.. Howard Journal of Communications, 28(4), 339-355. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2017.1300964
• Speno, A. G., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2017). Sexualization and age compression: A content analysis of adultification and youthification of girls and women in magazines. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, ONLINE FIRST. doi:10.1177/1077699017728918
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Hahn, R. (2016). Health versus appearance versus body competence: A content analysis investigating frames of health advice in women’s health magazines. Journal of Health Communication, 21, 496-503. doi:10.1080/10810730.2015.1103328
• Hopper, K. M., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2016). Bodies after babies: The impact of depictions of recently post-partum celebrities on non-pregnant women’s self-objectification and body surveillance. Sex Roles, 24-34. doi:10.1007/s11199-015-0561-2
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Smith, S. E. (2016). The impact of exposure to sexually oriented media on the endorsement of hookup culture: A panel study of first-year college students. Mass Communication & Society, 19, 74-101. doi:10.1080/15205436.2015.1070875
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., Gamble, H., & Hahn, R. (2016). Empowered sexual objects?: The priming influence of self-sexualization on thoughts and beliefs related to gender, sex, and power.. Western Journal of Communication, 81, 362-384. doi:10.1080/10570314.2016.1257822
• Click, M., Brandon, M., Behm-Morawitz, E., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2015). Twi-dudes and Twi-guys: How Twilight’s male fans interpret and engage with a feminized text. Men and Masculinities.
• Kim, K., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2015). A cross-cultural comparison of cognitive and affective mediators in the relationship between thin ideal media use and body image disturbance: Focusing on U.S. and Korean women. Asian Journal of Communication, 25, 507-524. doi:10.1080/01292986.2014.995681
• Kratzer, J., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2015). Is the actual ideal?: A content analysis of college students’ descriptions of ideal and actual hookups. Sexuality and Culture. doi:10.1007/s12119-015-9318-x
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., & Gerding, A. (2015). The cognitive tax of self-objectification: Examining sexually objectifying music videos and college women’s cognitive processing of subsequent advertising. Journal of Media Psychology, 27(1), 22-32. doi:DOI: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000128
• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., Behm-Morawitz, E., & Kim, K. (2014). Understanding the effects of MTV’s 16 and Pregnant on adolescent girls’ beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward teen pregnancy. Journal of Health Communication, 19(10), 1145-1160.
• Aubrey, J. S., & Rill, L. (2013). Investigating relations between Facebook use and social capital among college undergraduates. Communication Quarterly, 61, 479-496.
• Aubrey, J. S., & Smith, S. (2013). Development and validation of the Endorsement of the Hookup Culture Index. Journal of Sex Research, 50, 435-448.
• Aubrey, J. S., Rhea, D., Olson, L., & Fine, M. (2013). Conflict and control: Examining the association between exposure to television portraying interpersonal conflict and the use of controlling behaviors in romantic relationships. Communication Studies, 64, 106-124.
• Hopper, K. M., & Aubrey, J. (2013). Examining the impact of celebrity gossip magazine coverage of pregnant celebrities on pregnant women's body image. Communication Research, 767-788.

Reviews

• Stevens Aubrey, J. L., Robb, M., Bailey, J., & Bailenson, J. (2018. VR101: What you need to know about virtual reality and how it affects kids. San Francisco.
  More info

  https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/csm_vr101_final_under5mb.pdf
• Ward, L. M., & Stevens Aubrey, J. L. (2017. Watching gender: How stereotypes in movies and on TV impact kids’ development. San Francisco, CA.