Research projects

Research topics of the DESAJ Laboratory

Since she developed an expertise in research on the psychosexual development of youth and young adults, Marie-Aude Boislard divides her work in five research topics:

1) Factors associated to developmental shifts in the timing of the transition to a sexually active life. More specifically, she focuses on youth who become sexually active at a very young age and those that are still virgin at the beginning of adulthood.

2) Thrill-seeking and risk taking among youth and the individual behavioural strategies they adopt to reduce risks in connection with their sexuality, use of psychotropic substances and sporting activities.

3) Key events that marks the transition to a sexually active life of LGBTQ+ individuals (i.e. women who have sex with other women (WSW)).

4) Sociosexual characteristics and representations of individuals identifying themselves as Incels.

5) Risk behaviors among young people and the behavioral risk protection strategies they adopt in matters of sexuality, consumption of psychotropic substances and sports practices.

Research conducted by DESAJ laboratory are based on quantitative and mixed methodologies.