The Editorial Board of Women’s Health Issues is pleased to announce that the Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize for the best paper published in Women's Health Issues in 2014 (Volume 24) has been awarded to Hailee K. Dunn, MPH, a PhD student in clinical psychology at the University of Rhode Island. Dunn's manuscript, “Association between Sexual Behaviors, Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Ideation in a National Sample of High School Students: Implications of a Sexual Double Standard,” was co-authored by Annie Gjelsvik, PhD; Deborah N. Pearlman, PhD; and Melissa A. Clark, PhD. The manuscript was published in Women's Health Issues Volume 24, Issue 5 (September/October 2014), pages 567-574.
In the study, Dunn and her colleagues analyzed data on 13,065 high school students from the nationally representative 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. They found that students who reported having engaged in sexual intercourse were more likely to report having been bullied (at school or electronically) over the past 12 months than students who did not report intercourse experience. They also found that girls who engaged in sexual intercourse were more likely to be bullied than were boys who engaged in sexual intercourse. Students of both genders who reported both engaging in intercourse and being bullied had more than five times the adjusted odds of depression and three times the adjusted odds of suicidal ideation when compared to students who reported neither of these experiences.
The authors explain that their finding of a stronger association between sexual intercourse and bullying victimization in girls than in boys provides “some evidence that girls are held to different sexual standards than boys.” They recommend that “school-based bullying interventions should address peer norms regarding sexual behaviors, attitudes toward the sexual double standard and more broadly, attitudes and norms regarding traditional gender roles held in U.S. culture.”
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize is awarded annually to recognize excellence in research on women’s health care or policy. Priority is given to manuscripts that report the results of original research and that improve understanding of an important women’s health issue. Members of the staff and Editorial Board of Women’s Health Issues are not eligible. The prize includes a $1,000 award.
“The Editorial Board congratulates Hailee Dunn and her colleagues for producing a study that is methodologically strong and has clear policy implications,” said Chloe Bird, Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health Issues. “It is an important contribution to the ongoing discussions about how best to prevent and address bullying in school.”
The Women’s Health Issues Editorial Board also designated two excellent manuscripts in 2014 to receive “Honorable Mention” recognition:
- •“Selected Preconception Health Indicators and Birth Weight Disparities in a National Study” by Kelly L. Strutz, PhD, MPH; Liana J. Richardson, PhD, MPH; and Jon M. Hussey, PhD, MPH. Published in Volume 24, Issue 1 (January/February), pages e89–e97.
- •“Maternal Morbidities and Postpartum Depression: An Analysis Using the 2007 and 2008 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System” by Swathy Sundaram, PhD, MPH; Jeffrey S. Harman, PhD; and Robert L. Cook, MD, MPH. Published in Volume 24, Issue 4 (July/August), pages e381–e388.
Previous winners of the Gibbs Prize include:
- •Cynthia LeardMann, MPH (2013)
- •Nathan L. Hale, PhD (2012)
- •Jacqueline L. Angel, PhD (2011)
- •Diana Greene Foster, PhD (2010)
- •Paula Lantz, PhD (2009)
- •Sherry Glied, PhD (2008)
- •Richard C. Lindrooth, PhD (2007)
- •Joan S. Tucker, PhD (2006)
- •JiWon R. Lee, MS, RD, MPH (2005)
- •Dawn M. Upchurch, PhD (2004)
- •Sherry L. Grace, PhD (2003)
- •Sarah Hudson Scholle, DrPH (2002)
- •Sandra K. Pope, PhD (2001)
- •Ilene Hyman, PhD (2000)
- •Usha Sambamaoorthi, PhD (1999)
- •Claire Murphy, MD (1997)
- •Barbara A. Bartman, MD, MPH (1996)
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize was established to honor the founding President of the Board of Governors of the Jacobs Institute of Women Health. Charles E. Gibbs, MD (1923–2000) was a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and past chair of ACOG’s Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women, the Task Force on the Voluntary Review of Quality of Care, the Health Care Commission, and the Task Force on Maternal Health Policy. Dr. Gibbs served on the Jacobs Institute of Women Health Board of Governors from 1990–1999 and was instrumental in shaping the Institute’s mission and structure.
