Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Synthetic Or Not: Implications Of Hormonal Birth Control On Women's Hormones And The Cortisol Stress Response, Madeline Perry '23

Senior Research Symposium

Women’s bodies are the subject of decision-making and control, yet women’s lives are dismally ignored. The field of women’s health is highly understudied, and the demand for that adequate research must be granted to the women’s health field. This interdisciplinary research study investigated stress response differences between hormonal birth control users and non-users. Hormonal birth control (HBC) is one of the greatest technologies afforded to women and further research is necessary to ensure women are guaranteed bodily autonomy and women’s health education. Due to altered hormonal signaling, HBC has been linked to behavioral and decision-making differences in women. Building off …

The Myth Of Wellness: Deconstructing High, Contemporary Black Maternal Mortality Rates In The United States, Inaara Sultanali '23

Senior Research Symposium

Maternal mortality is widely acknowledged as one of many general indicators of overall health of a population, of status of women in society, and of functioning of the health system (World Health Organization [WHO], 2001). The United States, among one of the most high-income countries, ranks near the top in maternal mortality and the trend is increasingly exacerbating (Association of American Medical Colleges [AAMC], 2022). There are stark racial disparities within the United States’ maternal mortality rates; Black women in the United States are three to four times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related death than their White counterparts …

Power, Pleasure, And Privilege: Defining Depauw’S Hookup Culture And Its Mental Health Implications, Reanna Stiehler '23

Senior Research Symposium

Hookup culture is not primarily about sex, pleasure, connection, or freedom. Hookup culture is about power—how power is used, distributed, and desired. Previous work in hookup culture discusses a discourse of desire; however, the root and nature of this desire are unclear. I posit that hookup culture, as it currently exists, is strongly related to rape culture. In this thesis, I will explicate my anecdotal, qualitative, and quantitative evidence supporting this hypothesis.

This thesis provides an overview of what hookup culture is at a broad level. It then focuses more specifically on defining it at DePauw and considering the impact …