Nursing Research and Sponsored Programs is pleased to highlight this month’s Featured Publication, authored by Dr. Weiqi Chen, PhD, RN!
*content note: coercion and sexual violence*
Dr. Weiqi Chen recently joined our faculty with a research focus on preventing alcohol-involved sexual violence and risky sexual behaviors among young adults. In a recent review of qualitative studies, Dr. Chen and colleagues examined experiences of coerced condomless sex from both perpetrators and victims. In this review, they found that most studies focused on victims’ experiences, with only a few including perpetrators’ perspectives. Perpetrators use a wide range of tactics, from verbal pressure and emotional manipulation to deception and physical violence, to obtain condomless sex. While some perpetrators want to intentionally make their partners pregnant, others do it to control, dominate, or trap their partners in stable relationships. Some also do it simply because they believe condomless sex feels better. Findings also highlighted negative emotional and physical health outcomes among victims and connections to broader interpersonal violence. For Dr. Chen, these insights point to opportunities for interventions that reduce coercive condomless sex, offer support to those who experience coercive condomless sex, and opportunities to expand research efforts with underrepresented populations.
Chen, W.*, Kirwan, M., Hammett, J. F., Stewart, R., Cue Davis, K.. (2025). Coerced condomless sex: A scoping review of qualitative studies. Journal of Sex Research, 62(7), 1365-1380.
*UW-Madison School of Nursing