Where in the World is APF with Dr. Sasha Canan

Welcome to Where in the World is APF, our recipient highlight series where we catch up with our grant, scholarship, and award recipients making an impact across the globe!

We’re catching up with Dr. Sasha Canan, who received a 2016 Roy Scrivner Memorial Research Grant for the project, “A Mixed-methods Study of Sexual violence and Familial Support in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Adults.”

Since being awarded the APF Roy Scrivner Memorial Research Grant in 2016, can you share an update on your career and research journey?

I received this funding when I was beginning my doctoral dissertation at the University of Arkansas. Since then, I have worked as a tenure-track assistant professor at Monmouth University (2017-2020). After 3 years there, I moved to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in a tenure-track assistant professor role (2020-2024), where I was then promoted to associate professor (2024-present).

Prior to receiving the Roy Scrivner Memorial Research Grant, I largely conducted research using datasets that my doctoral mentor had collected previously or from easily accessible college student samples. This grant allowed me to collect a large, national sample for the first time. I focused my topics on sexual assault in the LGB community, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. One of the resulting publications evaluated and critiqued the leading measure of sexual assault (Sexual Experiences Survey; Koss et al. 2007) on its usefulness in lesbian and bisexual women. This paper got me invited to be part of the lead researcher, Mary Koss, team to revamp the measure in 2024, where I played a role in ensuring the measure would be inclusive of LGBT communities. Since that time, I have expanded to do other measurement-related work, like developing scales that measure community attitudes toward comprehensive sex education. 

How has your APF-funded research shaped your trajectory as a researcher and contributed to your work in the field since then?

I used this funding to create a multi-phase study. The first phase I used for my dissertation, and I continued to publish on that data in my early career. The second phase bolstered my research as an early career professional and supported my shift to a more research-resourced university. Lastly, the third phase helped bring me to the “finish line” of tenure with one final planned paper from the project left to publish.

Have there been additional milestones (such as additional funding, awards, or publications) that have emerged in the years following your APF grant?

Yes! Beyond my dissertation, which is what I initially sought to fund with this grant, I have published 8 additional papers, with a 9^th under review, and a final 10^th paper in preparation. I have presented 14 oral presentations and 6 poster presentations at conferences using data from this project. These works have led to additional opportunities, like contributing a chapter to Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention,  reviewing grants for the Department of Justice, and serving on data safety monitoring boards for NIH projects addressing needs to LGBTQ youth.   

• Canan, S. N, Jozkowski, K., Wiersma-Mosley, J., Blunt-Vinti, H., & Bradley, M. (2020). Validation of the Sexual Experience Survey–Short Form Revised using lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women’s narratives of sexual violence. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49, 1067–1083. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01543-7
• Pugh, B. Canan, S. N., Jozkowski, K. N., & Becker, P. (2024). Comparing and predicting rape acknowledgment between sexual orientation and gender identity categories. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241271383
• Canan, S. N., Denniston-Lee, J. & Jozkowski, K. N. (2024). Descriptive data of transgender and non-binary people’s experiences of sexual assault: Context, perpetrator characteristics, and reporting behaviors. LGBT Health. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2023.0088 
• Canan, S. N., Cozzolino, L., Myers, J., & Jozkowski, K. (2022). Does gender-neutral language affect psychometric properties of the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale-Short Form? A two-sample validation study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 38(3-4), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605221106144 
• Canan, S. N., Kaplan, A., & Jozkowski, K. (2023). A national U.S. study of 906 women’s qualitative accounts of their own reactions during sexual assault. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 20(3), 977-992. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-022-00772-1 
• Canan, S. N., Haus, K. R., Wiersma-Mosely, J. D., & Jozkowski, K. N. (2022). Familial support and reporting to their families: A two-sample study of LGBT sexual violence. LGBTQ+ Family: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 19(1), 54-69. https://doi.org/10.1080/27703371.2022.2137266 
• Canan, S. N., Kaplan, A., & Jozkowski, K. (2022). Comparing rates of sexual assault between panel quota and social media samples containing an overrepresentation of lesbian and bisexual women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(21-22), NP21386-NP21399.  https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211056027 
• Canan, S. N., Jozkowski, K., Mosley, J., Blunt-Vinti, H., & Bradley, M. (2021). Differences in lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual women’s experiences of sexual assault and rape in a national U.S. sample. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19-20), 9100-9120. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519863725

How have you utilized the findings from your APF-funded work into subsequent research, interventions, teaching, or community-facing initiatives?

Beyond the research mentioned above, several graduate students and undergraduate honors students have benefited from using this dataset in their theses. It has helped to train a new generation of researchers how to analyze and disseminate data. Findings from this data have also been used to train healthcare providers (nurses, social workers) on the culturally competent care needs of LGBT communities. I’ve also delivered talks that include data from this project at community organizations (e.g., PFLAG, sexual violence nonprofits, Pride events)

How did your APF-funded research positively influence or make significant contributions to the LGBTQIA+ community?

The biggest contribution to the LGBTQIA+ community was likely the influence this work has had on measurement of sexual assault. Measurement is the foundation of research. If your measurement isn’t accurate, all of your other efforts born out of that flawed data are going to be less effective. In my area, the idea of what “counts” as sexual assault and how we best measure it has changed significantly since the 1980s. The most widely used gold-standard measure at the time this project began was the Sexual Experiences Survey created by Mary Koss and her team in 2007. Although it worked well, it had shortcomings for LGBTQIA+ folks. The work from this APF-funded project influenced the new 2025 version of the measure.

What advice would you offer to students and early career researchers pursuing work in LGBTQIA+ psychology?

Learn about other researchers who regularly publish in the field and reach out to them. This work is never done solo. We make the greatest impact together.

Is there anything you would want the donors whose contributions made your grant possible to know?

Funding doctoral students can serve as a launching pad for their careers. Students are used to being frugal. A frugal student, as I was, will use every dollar effectively to maximize impact. Please continue funding doctoral students!

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