Jessica Barnack-Tavlaris, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, The College of New Jersey

My PhD is in Experimental Health/Social Psychology, and I have a Master’s Degree in Public Health Specializing in Epidemiology

When did you join the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research?

I joined SMCR in 2003 when I was a graduate student in my Psychology Master’s program.

How did you become interested in doing menstrual cycle research?

I was diagnosed with endometriosis at the age of 15 and the disease has impacted my life in many ways. Learning about the complexities of women’s health in college and graduate school validated many of the experiences I was having in my own life, and led me to want to pursue this work in my career.

Which researcher or paper influenced or inspired you to pursue research in this area?

Dr. Ingrid Johnston-Robledo and Dr. Joan Chrisler have both been my mentors for many years, and I continue to be inspired by their work. Dr. Johnston-Robledo first involved me in her research when I was an undergraduate at SUNY Fredonia, and I went on to work with Dr. Chrisler in my Psychology Master’s program at Connecticut College.

What are the primary areas of your menstrual cycle research?

I am primarily interested in attitudes toward menstruation, menstrual suppression, and how women are affected by menstrual stigma.

Where can visitors to our blog read about your work on menstruation?

“Kiss Your Period Good-Bye”: Menstrual Suppression in the Popular Press, Ingrid Johnson-Robledo, Jessica L. Barnack-Tavlaris and Stephanie Wares, Sex Roles, 54 (5): 353-360, November 2006. 

The Experience of Chronic Illness in Women: A Comparison Between Women with Endometriosis and Women with Chronic Migraine Headaches; Jessica L. Barnack and Joan C. Chrisler, Women & Health, 46(1):115-33,  2007.

The Medicalization of the Menstrual Cycle: Menstruation as a Disorder, (pp. 61-75), The Wrong Prescription for Women: How Medicine and Media Create a “Need” for Treatments, Drugs, and Surgery, Ed. Maureen C. McHugh and Joan C. Chrisler, Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2015.

What is your current research or work in this area?

I recently conducted a study that examined perceptions of women who openly disclose their menstrual status; this paper is currently under review. I am also working with some students on a study examining ways to encourage menstruation-related helping behaviors (e.g., signing a petition against menstrual product taxation).

For information on becoming a member of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research contact us by email: info@menstruationresearch.org. Subject line: Membership.