Overview

The Sexuality and Health in Context (SHIC) Lab investigates how social contexts, stigma, and contemporary relationship environments shape sexuality and health across development. We approach relationships as a health context—examining how sexual/relationship decisions and experiences function as determinants of health. Our work focuses on adolescence through adulthood, with particular attention to populations whose experiences are often overlooked—such as LGBTQ youth and people navigating singlehood.

We examine how family, peer, and digital environments influence relationship and sexual decisions, and how those decisions affect health outcomes. Using mixed-methods approaches, we map the pathways from social stressors to relationship decisions to health, identifying when, how, and for whom different contexts help or harm well-being.

Research Areas

Social Stress and Sexual/Relationship Decision-Making

We study how social stressors—such as stigma, family pressure, peer influence, and relationship norms or expectations—influence sexual and relationship decisions. These decisions (whether to seek, enter, sustain, or avoid relationships, as well as sexual choices and behaviors) play a pivotal role in development and well-being. By mapping the mechanisms linking stressors to decisions and outcomes, we identify intervention points and clarify when, how, and for whom relationships help or harm well-being across diverse populations and contexts.

Singlehood as a Developmental and Health Context

Singlehood is not simply the absence of a romantic relationship—it is its own developmental and social context with unique implications for health and well-being. Our research examines how norms, stigma, and fear of being single (FOBS) shape dating standards, partner seeking, and decisions about pursuing or maintaining relationships. We study when singlehood functions as a space for resilience and growth, and when it creates vulnerabilities for mental, sexual, and relational health.

Digital Contexts of Intimacy and Health

Digital environments—from social media to dating apps to emerging AI companionship—are now central to how young people explore sexuality and form relationships. We investigate how adolescents and young adults navigate intimacy in these online contexts, including their motives for seeking partners, experiences of affirmation or discrimination, and exposure to risks such as cyber dating abuse. Our studies explore how digital spaces create both opportunities and challenges for health and identity development, with particular attention to how vulnerable youth (e.g., LGBTQ youth) use these platforms differently and how emerging technologies like AI companionship may reshape intimacy and relationship development. We are also interested in translational applications, including digital interventions and safety education to promote healthy relationship development in online spaces.

Sexual Pleasure and Well-Being in Context

We examine sexual pleasure, satisfaction, and communication as key dimensions of health across all types of intimate experiences—from committed romantic relationships to casual sexual encounters. Our research also explores how social and relational pressures—such as sexual script or stigma, partner expectations, and performance anxiety—shape sexual behaviors and communication patterns (e.g., faking orgasm) in varied contexts. Much of this research focuses on diverse and understudied populations such as queer individuals and men who have sex with men, addressing significant gaps in sexual pleasure and well-being research.

Methods and Approaches

Our research employs mixed-methods designs that integrate quantitative approaches (e.g., longitudinal and daily diary studies) with qualitative methods and computational approaches like natural language processing. We use both observational and experimental designs to address our research questions. We also prioritize inclusive sampling strategies to capture mechanisms across diverse populations while advancing measurement tools for relationship and sexual health constructs.

Selected Publications

*Student mentee or staff trainee. ‡Corresponding author

Wongsomboon, V., & Gesselman (2025). Long stretch of singlehood ahead? Unpacking the roles of anticipated singlehood duration and singlehood stigma in lowering dating standards. Personal Relationships. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.70026

Elizabeth, H. S., Wongsomboon, V., & Clark M. S. (2025). Links between partnering, relationship quality and mental well-being among sexual minority and straight individuals. Psychology & Sexuality, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2025.2490913

*Greenawalt, I., Wongsomboon, V., Sajwani, A., Price, C., & Macapagal, K. (2025). “I had to stay true to myself”: Transgender and gender diverse feminine adolescents’ experiences with gender identity disclosure during online partner seeking. Psychology & Sexuality, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2025.2479837

Wongsomboon, V., *Greenawalt, I., *Owusu, J., Owens, C., Birnholtz, J., Moskowitz, D. A., & Macapagal, K. (2025). When reality doesn’t meet expectations: What sexual minority assigned-male-at-birth adolescents learn from using geosocial networking apps. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 12(1), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000654

Wongsomboon, V., Smith, M. S., Macapagal, K., Newcomb, M. E., & Whitton, S. W. (2024). Singlehood–mental health associations in sexual and gender minority youth assigned female at birth: A longitudinal study. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 41(11), 3409–3433. https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075241266470

Wongsomboon, V., Veldhuis C. D., Gordon J. D., & Macapagal, K. (2024). Experiences and correlates of cyber dating abuse in sexual and gender minority adolescent girls and feminine teens: Implications for psychological wellbeing. Psychology & Sexuality, 16(1), 297–313. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2024.2387639

*McIltrot, E. A., & Wongsomboon, V. (2024). Solo and partnered sexual satisfaction of sexual and gender minorities assigned female at birth: Roles of body appreciation, social support, and gender minority status. Sexuality & Culture, 28, 2879–2899. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-024-10261-9

Macapagal, K., Wongsomboon, V., Gordon, J.D., Nelson, K.M., & Widman, L.M. (2024). Online sexual communication and partner seeking among adolescents. In D. A. Christakis and L. Hale (Eds.), Handbook of Children, Adolescents, and Screens (pp. 357–363). Springer.

Wongsomboon, V., Queiroz, A. AFLN., Avila, A. A., Mongrella, M., Saber, R., Li, D. H. …Macapagal, K. (2023). Acceptability of ‘Humpr’: An online tool to educate adolescent sexual minority males about sexual networking applications. The Journal of Sex Research, 61(8), 1158–1167. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2273935

Gebru, N. M., & ‡Wongsomboon, V. (2023). Sexual arousal-delay discounting: When condoms delay arousal. The Journal of Sex Research, 61(5), 727–741. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2239216

Wongsomboon, V., *McIltrot, E. A., & *Sietins, E. (2023). Occurrence, frequency, and correlates of faking orgasm and satisfaction in sexual minority men, 61(4), 629–637. The Journal of Sex Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2198997

Coyne, C. A., Wongsomboon, V., Korpak, A. K., & Macapagal, K. (2023). “We have to figure it out ourselves”: Transfeminine adolescents’ online sexual experiences and recommendations for supporting their sexual health and wellbeing. Frontiers in Reproductive Health, 4, 1034747. https://doi.org/10.3389/frph.2022.1034747 

Wongsomboon, V., Webster, G. D., & Burleson, M. H. (2022). It’s the “why”: Links between (non)autonomous sexual motives, sexual assertiveness, and women’s orgasm in casual sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51, 621–632. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02103-8

Wongsomboon, V., *Sietins, E., & Webster, G. D. (2022). Predictors of face and body visibility in online dating applications among young men who have sex with men. Journal of Homosexuality, 69(13), 2305–2325. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2021.1938469

Wongsomboon, V., *Sietins, E., & Webster, G. D. (2021). Attractiveness, profile-picture face visibility, and unprotected receptive anal intercourse in young men who have sex with men using online dating applications. Sexual Health, 18(3), 212–220. https://doi.org/10.1071/SH20190

Wongsomboon, V., & Cox, D. J. (2021). Sexual arousal discounting: Devaluing condom-protected sex as a function of reduced arousal. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50, 2717–2728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01907-4

*Sietins, E., Wongsomboon, V., & Webster, G. D. (2020). Effects of internalized homonegativity and face visibility on HIV-risk-taking behavior in gay men who had casual sex using online-dating applications. International Journal of Sexual Health, 32(2), 165–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2020.1739186

Wongsomboon, V., Burleson M. H., & Webster, G. D. (2020) Women’s orgasm and sexual satisfaction in committed sex and casual sex: Relationship between sociosexuality and sexual outcomes in different sexual contexts, The Journal of Sex Research, 57(3), 285–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2019.1672036