Kinsey awards grants to student sex researchers

Strengthening understanding to solve complex problems is the goal of research in nearly every field of study, from math to science and even to sex. Though similar in theory, studies about sex might involve a little something more.

“In a field like this, it’s about going beyond numbers and data,” graduate student Lindsay Briggs said.

Briggs, along with five other IU students, plan to conduct somewhat unorthodox research dealing with sex, gender and reproduction this year.

The various studies are being partially funded by $750 Kinsey Institute Student Research Grants, designed to support sex-related graduate research.

Grant recipient Andrew Hendrickson plans to research how women choose their sexual partners.

“What’s really exciting is that if we understand how people make decisions related to sex, we can intervene in a way that’s easier and more effective,” Hendrickson said.

He said he will be looking at what sorts of factors predict risky behaviors, such as those associated with STDs.

“The goal is to improve clinical practices,” Hendrickson said. “If we find out that a 14-year-old girl is more prone to making risky choices than an 18-year-old is, we can determine better methods of prevention.”


Prevention is a theme among grant scholars this year. Briggs plans to travel to Nigeria with her grant money to interview college-age locals with the goal of finding HIV prevention programs that are successful across cultures.

“I want to start thinking at a more grassroots level,” Briggs said. “Finding out what people are thinking and feeling in regards to sexual partners and HIV.”

Briggs wants to focus on how Western prevention programs might not translate cross-culturally.

She plans to leave for Nigeria in July and conduct research for the next six months.
IU students are not the only ones benefitting from the Kinsey grants.

Kinsey Institute communications director, Jennifer Bass, said the grants were opened up last year to allow students from all over the country to apply.

This year more than 40 graduate students applied for the grant. Three IU students and three non-IU students received the award.

The Kinsey Institute hopes to continue the program for unconventional research in the future, Bass said.

“We would love to expand the program and provide more funding for more students,” she said. “Students need support to conduct research like this, and good research puts our field of study at an advantage.”

The Institute has made a point of supporting sex research, though the topic is often overlooked, Hendrickson said.

“This project wouldn’t happen without funding,” he said. “It is an interesting project, but it is also risky.”