Why do we need to teach children and teens about healthy relationships?

Indiana has some of the highest rates in America of forced intercourse and children reporting two or more adverse childhood experiences. Given childhood trauma and adversity are risk factors for sexual violence victimization and perpetration, efforts to address the rates of child maltreatment and sexual violence in our communities are imperative.

The Healthy Relationships for Rural Youth Initiative (HRRYI) seeks to empower schools and youth-serving organizations in rural Indiana to address the problem of sexual violence by equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary for cultivating positive peer and adult relationships, implementing best practices for digital safety, and ensuring the health and safety of the children in our communities.

Since 2019, this project has focused on implementing psychoeducational programs for youth, professional development trainings, and parent workshops with the goal of reducing the risk of sexual violence victimization and perpetration by promoting healthy relational norms that serve as protective factors against sexual violence. The program integrates evidence-based interventions and prevention measures, where educational sessions have focused on topics such as positive interpersonal communication, trusted adults, digital safety, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, boundary setting, consent, and bodily autonomy. Workshops and trainings have been delivered with parent groups, school personnel, youth-serving professionals, mental health practitioners, health care professionals, and faith leaders.

In addition to these programs, the HRRYI team has prioritized fostering collaborative partnerships with project stakeholders and members of the served-communities - with the goal of mutually supporting the efforts of our school and community partners.

HRRYI Team Members

Dr. Zoë D. Peterson: Zoë Peterson is a Professor of Counseling and Educational Psychology at Indiana University and Director of the Sexual Assault Research Initiative at the Kinsey Institute. She researches sexual consent, sexual assault, sexual coercion, and unwanted sex. She has studied men’s and women’s experiences as both victims and perpetrators of sexual aggression. She also is a Licensed Psychologist, and she edited the Wiley Handbook of Sex Therapy. She served as President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality from 2019-2021.

Dr. Catherine M. Sherwood-Laughlin: Catherine is a Clinical Professor in the School of Public Health at Indiana University. She has over 30 years of experience working with children and young adults related to the development, implementation and evaluation of public health programs focused on sexual health. She has served as a consultant with the Indiana Department of Education, Indiana Department of Health, and numerous school corporations to provide trainings for teachers related to implementing sexuality education programs in their classrooms. Catherine has also consulted with health care providers on adolescent sexual health issues and sexual health needs for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Lauren Baney: Lauren Baney has served as the Research Coordinator for the Healthy Relationships for Rural Youth Initiative (HRRYI) since February 2023. Lauren is a PhD candidate pursuing a degree in Health Behavior at Indiana University-Bloomington School of Public Health. Her research focus is on adolescent health and well-being around mental and emotional health, specifically within the population of those who have experienced trauma or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES).

John A. Leman: John Leman is a recent graduate from the M.S.Ed program in Mental Health Counseling & Counselor Education at Indiana University, where he has served as the Research Coordinator of the Healthy Relationships for Rural Youth Initiative (HRRYI) since June 2021. John previously worked as a middle school special education teacher for four years and also served in the field of animal rescue for a year and a half. He will be continuing his education as a PhD candidate in Counseling Psychology at Northeastern University this fall.

Brianny Alvarado: Brianny Alvarado is a second-year student in the M.S.Ed program in Mental Health Counseling and Counselor Education at Indiana University. She is a research assistant with the Healthy Relationships Initiative and a clinical intern at Indiana Center for Recovery. Brianny has worked for over three years for a non-profit organization that provides psychiatric and addiction treatment for individuals and families. She plans to continue her education by pursuing a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology after completing her Masters and work in practice serving individuals with sexual violence/assault and childhood trauma.

Conference Presentations

Brewster, M. K., Alvarado, B., Baney, L. R., Leman, J. A., Peterson, Z. D., & Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M. (2023, June 14-15). Psychological safety: Strengthening interpersonal relationships in the digital age [Conference presentation]. 2023 Indiana School Health Network Conference, Indianapolis, IN, United States.

Alvarado, B., Brewster, M. K., Baney, L. R., Leman, J. A., Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M., & Peterson, Z. D. (2023, May 18-19). Healthy Relationships for Rural Youth Initiative: Training the trainers for youth digital and interpersonal safety [Poster presentation]. 2023 Indiana University Rural Conference, French Lick, IN, United States.

Maddock, B. D., Persons, A. Y., Leman, J. A., Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Peterson, Z. D., & Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M. (2022, November 3-6). Teaching healthy relationships as a sexual violence prevention measure: Examining three years of community and school-based interventions [Poster presentation]. The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality 2022 Annual Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Maddock, B. D., Leman, J. A., Persons, A. Y., Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Peterson, Z. D., & Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M. (2022, September 6-7). Expansion of psychoeducational programming on the prevention of sexual violence in rural Indiana [Poster presentation]. 75th Anniversary Research Symposium, Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States.

Maddock, B. D., Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Persons, A. Y., Leman, J. A., Peterson, Z. D., & Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M. (2022, August 4-6). Equipping youth-serving professionals: Therapeutic skills trainings to prevent sexual assault among youth [Student poster presentation]. Division 17: Society of Counseling Psychology, American Psychological Association 2022 Convention, Minneapolis, MN, United States.

Leman, J. A., Maddock, B. D., Persons, A. Y., Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Peterson, Z. D., & Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M. (2022, August 4-6). Sexual violence prevention and education in rural communities: An ecological approach [Poster presentation]. The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS), American Psychological Association 2022 Convention, Minneapolis, MN, United States.

CKF - ISHN - June 2022 Leman, J. A., Persons, A. Y., Maddock, B. D., Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Peterson, Z. D., & Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M. (2022, June 20-21). Promoting healthy interpersonal relationships through educational programs and school partnerships [Conference presentation]. 2022 Indiana School Health Network Conference, Indianapolis, IN, United States.

Persons, A. Y., Leman, J. A., Maddock, B. D., Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Peterson, Z. D., & Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M. (2022, June 3-4). Uplifting communities to address sexual violence through collaboration and psychoeducation [Roundtable discussion]. Indiana Counseling Association 2022 Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN, United States.

Leman, J. A., Maddock, B. D., Persons, A. Y., Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Peterson, Z. D., & Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M. (2022, June 2-4). Healthy Relationships Initiative: Using early intervention and a community-based participatory approach to develop educational programs for sexual violence prevention [Virtual poster presentation]. AASECT 2022 Annual Conference.

Leman, J. A., Maddock, B. D., Persons, A. Y., Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M., & Peterson, Z. D. (2022, May 19-20). Promoting digital safety and healthy relational norms in schools as a measure for preventing sexual violence [Invited conference presentation]. 2022 Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy, Indianapolis, IN, United States.

Klinepeter-Persing, D. M., Leman, J. A., Maddock, B. D., Persons, A. Y., Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M., & Peterson, Z. D. (2022, May 12-13). Developing community partnerships as a method for preventing sexual violence [Roundtable discussion]. 2022 Indiana University Rural Conference, French Lick, IN, United States.

Howes, L., Roach, J., Leman, J. A., Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M., & Peterson, Z. D. (2021, November 18-21). Promoting healthy interpersonal boundaries among rural elementary students: An ecological approach to rape prevention education [Poster presentation]. The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality 2021 Annual Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico.