Gail E. Wyatt | |
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Occupation(s) | Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry |
Spouse | Louis Wyatt |
Awards |
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Academic background | |
Alma mater | Fisk University; University of California, Los Angeles |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center |
Gail Elizabeth Wyatt (born 1944) is a clinical psychologist and board-certified sex therapist known for her research on consensual and abusive sexual relationships and their influence on psychological well-being. She is Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. [1] Wyatt was the first African American woman in the state of California to receive a license to practice psychology and first African American woman to be named a Full Professor of the UCLA School of Medicine. [2]
Wyatt received the American Psychological Association (APA) Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy Award in 1992. [3] The award citation noted her "research significantly advancing our understanding of the effects of abortion,childhood sexual abuse,sexual assault,sexually transmitted diseases,and sexual practices among women,particularly African-American women,and establishing research methods and tools to create culturally appropriate measures of these critical issues." [4]
Wyatt received the Carolyn Wood Sherif Award from the Society for the Psychology of Women in 1995. [5] In 2017,she received the APA Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Trauma Psychology [6] and in 2019,was named Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town. [7]
Wyatt was born in Ft. Worth,TX in 1944. She attended Fisk University where she completed her bachelor's degree in 1965 and master's degree in 1975, [8] under the mentorship of Henry Tomes. [4] Wyatt worked for Lloyd Dunn as part of the effort to standardize the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and,subsequently,as a school psychologist in Baltimore,MD. [4]
In 1969,Wyatt began working as a research assistant at the University of California,Los Angeles (UCLA) Neuropsychiatric Institute and enrolled in the educational psychology program,where she was mentored by Norma Feshbach. Wyatt completed her dissertation,which focused on locus of control and stressors experienced by low-income African-American mothers, [4] and graduated with a PhD from UCLA in 1973. Wyatt continued on at UCLA and became the first African-American woman to receive training as a sex therapist at the Neuropsychiatric Institute (1974–1975). From there,she launched her clinical and research career,investigating sexual stereotypes and sexuality of African-American women. [9]
In 2016,while serving as Director of the Semel Institute's Center for Culture,Trauma and Mental Health Disparities,Wyatt was honored with the UCLA Faculty Career Commitment to Diversity DEI Award. [10]
Wyatt has explored African-American women's sexuality by tracing women's body images and sexual experiences from childhood to adolescence to adulthood. She has devoted much of her clinical practice to helping women cope with traumatic experiences including sexual assault,intimate partner violence,abortion,childhood sexual abuse,and sexually transmitted infection. [4] In one of their studies,Wyatt and her research team conducted interviews of African-American women who were HIV positive or negative over the span of a year. Women who were HIV positive had more depressive symptoms,less education,and lower income as compared to women who were HIV negative,and they were more likely to report experiencing intimate partner violence. Such findings underscore the women's vulnerability with implications for HIV and STD prevention efforts. [11] In years prior there have been many concerns regarding African-American women and AIDS since it was mainly focused on those who have used drugs and/or had sex with users. . [12] African American women whose age range from 25 to 44 are 13 times more likely to die of AIDS. [13]
Wyatt developed and validated the Wyatt Sexual History Questionnaire, [14] a structured interview used to elicit women's consensual and coercive sexual experiences,that may be administered via telephone or face-to-face. Her research program has been funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse [15] and the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), [16] including a prestigious NIMH Research Scientist Career Development Award. [17]
Sexual behaviors in children are common and may range from normal and developmentally appropriate to abusive. These behaviors may include self-stimulation,interest in sex,curiosity towards sex and the opposite gender,exhibitionism,voyeurism,gender role behaviors and engagement in interpersonal sexual acts.
Prison sexuality consists of sexual relationships between prisoners or between a prisoner and a prison employee or other persons to whom prisoners have access. Since prisons are usually separated by sex,most sexual activity is with a same-sex partner. Exceptions to this include sex with spouses/partners during conjugal visits and sex with a prison employee of the opposite sex.
Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force,coercion,abuse of authority,or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent,such as one who is unconscious,incapacitated,has an intellectual disability,or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.
Gregory M. Herek is a researcher,author,and professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis (UCD). He has conducted extensive research on prejudice against sexual minorities,and coined the term sexual prejudice as a replacement for homophobia to describe this phenomenon. Herek argued that using the term homophobia incorrectly assumes that negative responses to lesbian,gay,and bisexual people are founded in pathological,irrational fear,whereas psychological research indicates they are more accurately regarded as a form of prejudice. Herek is an openly and prominent gay psychologist. Herek is considered one of the most influential scholars of sexual minorities.
Richard B. Gartner is a clinical psychologist who was trained both as a family therapist and an interpersonal psychoanalyst. One of the founders of MaleSurvivor:the National Organization on Male Sexual Victimization [www.malesurvivor.org],he is a Past President of the organization and now chairs its advisory board. He is known for his research and clinical work in the area of child sexual abuse against boys and its aftermath for them as men.
Child sexual abuse (CSA),also called child molestation,is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child,indecent exposure,child grooming,and child sexual exploitation,such as using a child to produce child pornography.
Research published from 2000 to 2020 illustrates increased prevalence rates of sexual violence against people with intellectual disabilities,compared to the general population.:61 The World Health Organization (WHO) funded a study which concluded that 15% of the adult population worldwide in 2012 had a disability,putting them at increased risk of physical,sexual,and intimate partner violence. Of that 15%,6.1% or an estimated 7,008,716,704 adults worldwide had intellectual disability with 5.5% experiencing sexual violence. In another 2012 report,the WHO found that worldwide,children with intellectual disabilities experienced a 4.6 times greater risk of sexual violence than those without disability.
Anke A. Ehrhardt is a researcher in the field of sexual and gender development of children,adolescents,and adults. Her research has included a wide range of studies on determinants of sexual risk behavior among children,adolescents,heterosexual women and men,and the gay population,and on comprehensive approaches to preventing HIV and STD infection. Ehrhardt is the Founding Director of the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University,where she has had a particular focus on research and advocacy for female-controlled methods of HIV prevention.
Seth C. Kalichman is an American clinical community psychologist and professor of social psychology at the University of Connecticut,known for his research into HIV/AIDS treatment and HIV/AIDS denialism. Kalichman is also the director of the Southeast HIV/AIDS Research &Education Project in Atlanta,Georgia,and Cape Town,South Africa,and the editor of the journal AIDS and Behavior. He is the developer of the Sexual Compulsivity Scale.
Paul Richard Abramson is a UCLA psychology professor,expert witness,author,and musician.
Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor with the University of California,Los Angeles,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. Rotheram is the professor-in-residence in the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She is the Director of the Global Center for Children and Families at UCLA and the former director of the Center for HIV Identification,Prevention,and Treatment Services.
Carolyn Marie West is associate professor of psychology,at the University of Washington Tacoma,and was the first holder of the Bartley Dobb Professorship for the Study and Prevention of Violence (2005-2008).
Sean D. Young is an American social and behavioral psychologist. He is a medical school and Computer and Information Sciences professor with the University of California,Irvine (UCI). He serves as the executive director of the University of California,Institute for Prediction Technology (UCIPT) and the UCLA Center for Digital Behavior (CDB).
Wendee M. Wechsberg is an American social science researcher. Wechsberg's research focuses on developing and testing the efficacy of HIV prevention interventions among key populations of substance abusers globally. She is a recognized expert in the fields of substance abuse,gender inequality,and HIV. She developed the Women's CoOp intervention,a woman-focused behavioral HIV intervention that incorporates gender- and culture-specific skills training. Wechsberg is a Principal Researcher and Director of the Substance Use,Gender,and Applied Research (SUGAR) Program at RTI International and Director of the RTI Global Gender Center. She is also adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Gillings School of Global Public Health,Adjunct Professor of Psychology at North Carolina State University (NCSU),and adjunct professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine.
Domestic violence in same-sex relationships or intragender violence is a pattern of violence or abuse that occurs within same-sex relationships. Domestic violence is an issue that affects people of any sexuality,but there are issues that affect victims of same-sex domestic violence specifically. These issues include homophobia,internalized homophobia,HIV and AIDS stigma,STD risk and other health issues,lack of legal support,and the violence they face being considered less serious than heterosexual domestic violence. Moreover,the issue of domestic violence in same-sex relationships has not been studied as comprehensively as domestic violence in heterosexual relationships. However,there are legal changes being made to help victims of domestic violence in same-sex relationships,as well as organizations that cater specifically to victims of domestic violence in same-sex relationships.
Jeffrey T. Parsons is an American psychologist,researcher,and educator;he was a Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY) and was the Director of Hunter College's Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies &Training,which he founded in 1996. Parsons was trained as a developmental psychologist and applied this training to understand health,with a particular emphasis on HIV prevention and treatment. He was known for his research on HIV risk behaviors of gay,bisexual,and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM),HIV-related syndemics,and sexual compulsivity. He resigned his positions at CUNY on July 3,2019,following a year-long university investigation of misconduct allegations against him. In 2023,the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that he was required to pay a $375,000 settlement for engaging in fraud against the federal government for many years.
Michael Donald Newcomb was an American psychologist. His research focused on drug etiology,as well as nuclear anxiety and other topics.
Karen Jill Saywitz was an American psychologist,author,and educator. She worked as a developmental and clinical psychologist and professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and Department of Psychiatry and Development. For more than 20 years Saywitz taught child development and was director of several mental health programs for families. She also developed "non-leading" techniques for interviewing child witnesses and victims,based on cognitive and developmental psychology principles. She died of cancer in 2018.
Lisa Bowleg is an applied social psychologist known for conducting research on intersectionality in social and behavioral science and the relationship between social-contextual factors and stress,resilience,and HIV risk in Black communities.
Jodi Anne Quas is an applied developmental psychologist who is known for her work on how maltreatment and abuse affect memory development and children's ability to give eyewitness testimony after experiencing trauma. She holds the position of Professor of Psychological Science and Nursing Science at the University of California,Irvine School of Social Ecology.
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