B.A. in Psychology University of Maryland 1998
M.P.H. Indiana University 2003
Ph.D. in Health Behavior Indiana University 2007

For more than 25 years, Dr. Debby Herbenick's research has focused on understanding how people experience their bodies and sexual lives. Among her 225+ scientific publications, she has developed and validated measures to assess genital self-image, the quality of sexual experiences, and has consulted on the development of other sexuality-related measures. In 2022, she was named one of the Top 2% cited scientists in the world. She has also earned recognition as an educator, having earned IU’s Trustees Teaching Award and Career Teaching Award.

Dr. Herbenick is the Principal Investigator of the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), an ongoing U.S. nationally representative probability survey of Americans' sexual lives that began in 2009 and was described by Time Magazine as “the most comprehensive survey of its kind in nearly two decades.” The award-winning NSSHB covers nine decades of life and has included tens of thousands of Americans. To date, there have been eight waves of data collection for the NSSHB. In total—between the NSSHB and several other separately supported studies—Dr. Herbenick has led 14 U.S. probability surveys dedicated to understanding contemporary sexual health issues in the United States. 

Dr. Herbenick’s research has examined genital self-image, sexual function, emerging sexual practices, and sexual violence. She has also developed and tested educational messages aimed at helping to reduce (a) the risk of sexual assault and (b) people engaging in certain types of sex that may cause harm to themselves or a partner.

Most recently, she has turned her attention to studying population-level increases in what some call rough sex behaviors, with a particular focus on understanding people's experiences with sexual choking, which is a form of strangulation, and also understanding the health consequences of being/choked. To do so, she has collaborated with colleagues who have expertise in brain health and hypoxia. Dr. Herbenick’s research support has come from the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Church & Dwight Co., Inc., and numerous private foundations and individual philanthropists.

An award-winning researcher and educator, Dr. Herbenick is internationally known for her creative ways of sharing sexual science with the general public. She has published six best-selling books about sex, several thousand newspaper and magazine columns, served as co-producer for the Emmy-nominated documentary Hot Girls Wanted, and has consulted on sexuality topics for various films and television shows. In addition, Dr. Herbenick wrote The Kinsey Institute's Kinsey Confidential columns and podcasts for 17 years. She has shared her professional expertise on various television, radio, and web-based video series. She is also the founder and host of the Bloomington Sex Salon, a popular event series dedicated to creating campus-community conversations about sexuality topics.

Awards

2024    SASH Research Award. Society for the Advancement of Sexual Health.

2023    Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award. The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

2023    Outstanding Theoretical Paper Award. The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. [Award shared with co-authors Dr. Van Anders, Brotto, Haris, and Chadwick.]

2023    Tracy M. Sonneborn Award. Indiana University.

2022    Excellence in Research Award (Senior Researcher). Department of Applied Health Science. Indiana University School of Public Health.

2021    James E. Mumford Excellence in Extraordinary Teaching Award. IU Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching (FACET). Nominated by a graduate student.

2021    Outstanding Senior Researcher Award. Indiana University School of Public Health.

2020    Distinguished Sexual and Gender Health Revolutionaries Award. University of Minnesota.

2020    Professional Standard of Excellence Award. American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists.

2020    Career Teaching Award. Indiana University School of Public Health.

2019    Trustees Teaching Award. Indiana University.

2018    Outstanding Faculty Collaborative Research and Lecture. Indiana University. [Award shared with research team members Professors Brian Dodge, Dennis Fortenberry, Michael Reece, and Stephanie Sanders.]

2018    Fellow of the Society. Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

Dr. Herbenick's newest book is Yes Your Kid: What Parents Need to Know About Today’s Teens and Sex, as seen in the New York Times, the Atlantic, and CNN. Her previous books include The Coregasm Workout, Sex Made Easy, Read My Lips: A Complete Guide to the Vulva and Vagina, Great in Bed and Because It Feels Good. Her books have been translated into five languages.

For more information about Dr. Herbenick's published books, visit her Amazon author page:

https://www.amazon.com/Debby-Herbenick/

Herbenick, D., Fu, T. C., & Patterson, C. (2023). Sexual repertoire, duration of partnered sex, sexual pleasure, and orgasm: Findings from a US nationally representative survey of adults. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 49(4), 369-390.

Herbenick, D., Fu, T. C., Wasata, R., & Coleman, E. (2023). Masturbation prevalence, frequency, reasons and associations with partnered sex: Findings from a U.S. nationally representative survey. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(3), 1317-1331.

Herbenick, D., Guerra-Reyes, L., Patterson, C., Wilson, J., Rosenstock Gonzalez, Y. R., Voorheis, E., Whitcomb, M., Kump, R., Theis, E., Rothman E. F., Nelson, K. M., & Maas, M. K. (2023). #ChokeMeDaddy: A content analysis of memes related to choking/strangulation during sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(3), 1299-1315.

Herbenick, D., Patterson, C., Khan, S., Voorheis, E., Sullivan, A., Wright, P., & Keene, S. (2023). “Don’t just randomly grab someone’s neck during intercourse!” An analysis of internet articles about choking/strangulation during sex. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 49(1), 41-55.

Herbenick, D., Fu, T., Patterson, C., Rosenstock Gonzalez, Y.R., Luetke, M., Svetina Valdivia, D., Eastman-Mueller, H., Guerra-Reyes, L., & Rosenberg, M. (2023). Prevalence and characteristics of choking/strangulation during sex: Findings from a probability survey of undergraduate students. Journal of American College Health, 71(4), 1059-1073.

Herbenick, D., Fu, T., Svetina Valdivia, D., Patterson, C., Rosenstock Gonzalez, Y., Guerra-Reyes, L., Eastman-Mueller, H., Beckmeyer, J., & Rosenberg, M. (2021). What is rough sex, who does it, and who likes it? Findings from a probability survey of U.S. undergraduate students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50(3), 1183-1195.

Luetke, M., Hensel, D., Herbenick, D., & Rosenberg, M. (2020). Romantic relationship conflict due to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in intimate and sexual behaviors in a nationally representative sample of American adults. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 46(8), 747-762. PMID: 32878584

Townes, A., Guerra-Reyes, L., Murray, M., Rosenberg, M., Wright, B., Long, L., & Herbenick, D. (2020). 'Somebody that looks like me' matters: a qualitative study of black women's preferences for receiving sexual health services in the USA. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 1-15. PMID: 32996382

Herbenick, D., Fu, T.C., Wright, P., Paul, B., Gradus, R., Bauer, J., Jones, R. (2020). Pornography use and diverse sexual behaviors: Findings from a Nationally Representative Survey of Americans Ages 14 to 60. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 17(4), 623-633.

Herbenick, D., Eastman-Mueller, H., Fu, T.C., Dodge, B., Ponander, K., & Sanders, S.A. (2019). Women's sexual satisfaction, communication, and reasons for (no longer) faking orgasm: Findings from a U.S. probability sample. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(8), 2461-2472. PMID: 31502071

Herbenick, D., Bowling, J., Fu, T.C.J., Dodge, B., Guerra-Reyes, L., Sanders, S. (2017). Sexual diversity in the United States: Results from a nationally representative probability sample of adult women and men. PLOS One. Article Link

Herbenick, D., Schick, V., Sanders, S.A., Reece, M., and Fortenberry, J.D. (2015). Pain experienced during vaginal and anal intercourse among male-female partners: findings from a nationally representative probability study in the United States. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 12(4), 1040-1051.

Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Schick, V., Sanders, S., & Fortenberry, J.D. (2013). The development and validation of the male genital self-image scale: results from a nationally representative probability sample of men in the United States. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10(6), 1516-1525.

Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Sanders, S.A., Schick, V., Dodge, B., & Fortenberry, J.D. (2010). Sexual behavior in the United States: Results from a national probability sample of males and females ages 14 to 94. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7 (suppl 5), 255-265.