Biography

Dr. Jackie Woerner is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Sociology and Psychology at the University of Central Florida. Prior to joining UCF in 2019, she received her PhD in Social Psychology from Wayne State University, and completed a 2-year NIDA postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Dr. Woerner’s core research areas are in the prevention of and response to gender-based violence, especially as it relates to engagement in health risk behaviors, such as problem substance use and sexual risk behavior. In particular, her work aims to better understand when and why people become violent. Her lab examines the interplay between individual level risk and protective factors (e.g., personality), situational factors (e.g., alcohol), and broader societal factors (e.g., gender norms, social hierarchies) to understand violence propensity – prioritizing primary prevention. Recent projects focus on technology-facilitated (e.g., dating app) sexual violence. In a second line of research, Dr. Woerner’s research examines the mechanisms linking interpersonal harm (e.g., discrimination, violence) to health behaviors and outcomes, with a focus on social determinants of health and systemic inequalities.

Across her research, Dr. Woerner prioritizes an interdisciplinary team-based research approach merging health and social justice perspectives to address the consequences of violence and to ultimately reduce its prevalence and mitigate its impact on individuals and communities. To this end, she is a member of several collaborative research teams at UCF, including the Violence Against Women research cluster and the Substance Use Research Group (SURG).

For more information, please email Dr. Woerner or visit the STRIVE lab website: www.jackiewoerner.com

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