Stéphanie Couture, Ph.D.

(She/her)

Assistant professor
Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
Université Laval

« »
What we do
Selected publications

Our work aims to better understand how individual, relational, institutional, community, and societal factors contribute to sexual well-being or sexual violence. More specifically, our research focuses on the processes that promote sexual well-being, as well as the conditions that may increase the risk of sexual violence or support its prevention throughout the life course.

Research

Preventing Sexual Violence in Festival Settings: This project aims to document community- and societal-level factors related to the prevention of sexual violence in festival settings. Using a qualitative multimethod approach, it seeks to identify barriers and facilitators to prevention in order to develop recommendations for safer festival environments.

Promoting Respect for the Intimate and Sexual Lives of Adults with Disabilities in Alternative Housing: This project uses a qualitative partnership-based approach to examine the realities and needs related to the intimate and sexual lives of people with physical disabilities living in alternative housing, with the aim of promoting respect for their sexual rights in institutional settings.

Co-Developing an Online Training Program to Support School Staff in Responding to Sexualized Behaviours: This knowledge mobilization project, conducted in partnership with RÉCIT, aimed to equip school staff to respond appropriately to sexualized behaviours among preschool and elementary school children. The online training is available free of charge (see Publications).

Publications

Couture, S., Kotiuga, J., Brousseau, L., Russell, A., April, J., & Joly, É. (2026). Comportements sexualisés : comment favoriser le bien-être des enfants [Autoformation en ligne]. Campus RÉCIT. https://campus.recit.qc.ca/enrol/index.php?id=1372

Kotiuga, J., Labonté, R., & Couture, S. (2026). School staff responses to scenarios involving normative and problematic sexualised behaviours in elementary school settings. Sex Education, https://doi.org/10.1080/14681811.2026.2665658

Couture, S., Dion, J., Girouard, A., Vaillancourt-Morel, M.-P., Paquette, M.-M., O’Sullivan, L.F., & Bergeron, S. (2026). Perceived partner responsiveness is associated with adolescent sexual wellbeing over one year. Journal of Adolescence, 98(3), 917-928. https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.70109

Couture, S., Brodeur, G., Fernet, M., Hébert, M., Flynn, C., & Lafortune, L. (2026). “We listen to women’s experiences of domestic violence, but we stop them when it comes to sexual violence”: Training needs of shelter workers. Violence Against Women, 32(8), 2398-2422. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012251347624

Couture, S., Hébert, M., Fernet, M., Paradis, A., & Lévesque, S. (2025). A dyadic analysis of sexual assertiveness and sexual outcomes in adolescent romantic relationships. The Journal of Sex Research, 62(1), 127-138.  https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2023.2282620

Paquette, M-M., Herrera-Roberge, J., Jacmin-Park, S., Couture, S., Girouard, A., & Bergeron, S. (2025). How does minority stress relate to sexual wellbeing? A scoping review. Current Sexual Health Reports, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-024-00398-x

Couture, S., Hébert, M., & Fernet, M. (2024). Validation of a French-Canadian adaptation of the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness for adolescents. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 39(4), 1106-1123. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681994.2022.2067981

Couture, S., Fernet, M., Hébert, M., Guyon, R., Lévesque, S., & Paradis, A. (2023). “I just want to feel good without making you feel bad”: Sexual assertiveness negotiation in adolescent romantic relationships. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(7), 3063-3079. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-023-02668-6

Couture, S., Vaillancourt-Morel, M.-P., Hébert, M., & Fernet, M. (2023). Associations between conflict negotiation strategies, sexual comfort, and sexual satisfaction in adolescent romantic relationships. The Journal of Sex Research,60(3), 305-314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2022.2043230

Fernet, M., Hébert, M., Couture, S., & Brodeur, G. (2019). Meeting the needs of adolescent and emerging adult victims of sexual violence in their romantic relationships: A mixed methods study exploring barriers to help-seeking. Child Abuse & Neglect, 91, 41-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.01.019  

Affiliations

  • Assistant professor, Departement of psychiatry and neurosciences, Université Laval
  • The Interdisciplinary Research Center on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Abuse (CRIPCAS)
  • Canadian Sex Research Forum (CSRF)
  • Sexologist, member of the Ordre professionnel des sexologues du Québec

CRIPCAS
Research Team

 

Non-CRIPCAS
Research Team

Grants agencies

In the news

Research partners

Contact us



 Quebec

E-mail

Phone 

Life at the lab

Newsletter

Stay informed on the latest advances in research

Register

Financed by

Contact

News

Career

Press room

© The Interdisciplinary Research Center on Intimate relationship problems and Sexual Abuse Année. All rights reserved.
Privacy policy • Website by Agence Riposte

Powered by Yapla Logo