Dr. Samantha Dawson is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Psychology program at the University of British Columbia. Since 2009, her research program has focused on identifying mechanisms contributing to sexual function in individuals and couples, with the goal of using these mechanisms to develop targeted interventions for sexual dysfunction. Her clinical interests include evidence-based interventions for sexual dysfunction. Dr. Dawson is in the process of registration with the College of Psychologists of British Columbia.

Research interests include cognitive and affective factors underlying sexual function and dysfunction in individuals and couples. Dr. Dawson’s research program involves experimental laboratory-based research using various sexual psychophysiological measures (e.g., eye tracking, genital plethysmography), as well as more ecologically-valid daily experience and longitudinal methodologies.

Dubé, J. P.,* Dawson, S. J., & Rosen, N. O. (accepted). Emotion regulation and sexual wellbeing among Women: Current status and future directions. Invited Review for Current Sexual Health Reports.

Sawatsky, M. L.*, Lavrinsek, S., Dawson, S. J., & Lalumière, M. L. (accepted). The time-course of genital response specificity. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.

Dawson, S. J., Vaillancourt-Morel, M-P., Pierce, M., & Rosen, N. O. (in press). Biopsychosocial predictors of trajectories of postpartum sexual function in first-time mothers. Health Psychology.

Suschinsky, K. D., Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (in press). Assessing gender-specificity of clitoral responses. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.

Lalumière, M. L., Sawatsky, M. L.*, Dawson, S. J., & Suschinsky, K. D. (in press). Target Article: The empirical status of the Preparation Hypothesis: Explicating women’s genital responses to sexual stimuli in the laboratory. Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Velten, J., Dawson, S. J., Suschinsky, K. D., Brotto, L. A., & Chivers, M. L. (in press). Development and validation of a measure of responsive sexual desire. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy.

Davidson J. R., Dawson S. J., & Krsmanovic A. (in press). Effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) in a primary care setting. Behavioural Sleep Medicine.

Huberman, J. S., McInnis, M. K.,* Bouchard, K. N., Dawson, S. J., Pukall, C. F., & Chivers, M. L. (2019). Exploring comfort levels and the role of compensation in sexual psychophysiology study participation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 2389-2402.

Dawson, S. J., Huberman, J. S., Bouchard, K. N., McInnis, M. K.,* Pukall, C. F., & Chivers, M. L. (2019). Effects of individual difference variables, gender, and exclusivity of sexual attraction on volunteer bias in sexuality research. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 2407-2417.

Tassone, D.,* Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2019). Homonegativity as a predictor of gynephilic men’s controlled attention and attraction toward non-preferred sexual images and video. Personality and Individual Differences, 149, 261-272.

Bouchard, K. N., Dawson, S. J., Shelley, A. J., & Pukall, C. F. (2019). Concurrent measurement of genital lubrication and blood flow during sexual arousal. Biological Psychology, 145, 159-166.

Kane, L., Dawson, S. J., Shaughnessy, K., Reissing, E., Ouimet, A., & Ashbaugh, A. (2019). A review of experimental research on anxiety and sexual arousal: Implications for the treatment of sexual dysfunction using cognitive-behavioural therapy. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 10, 1-24.

Rosen, N. O., Dawson, S. J., Brooks, M., Kellogg-Spadt, S. (2019). Treatment of vulvodynia: Pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches. Drugs, 5, 483-493.

Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2019). The effect of task demands on gender-specificity of attentional biases in androphilic women and gynephilic men. Personality and Individual Differences, 146, 120-126.

Sawatsky, M. L.,* Dawson, S. J., & Lalumière, M. L. (2018). Genital lubrication: A cue-specific sexual response in women? Biological Psychology, 134, 103-113.

Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2018). The effect of static versus dynamic stimuli on visual processing of sexual cues in androphilic women and gynephilic men. Royal Society Open Science.

Timmers, A. D., Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2018). The effects of gender and relationship context cues on responsive sexual desire in exclusively and predominantly androphilic women and gynephilic men. Journal of Sex Research, 55, 1167-1179.

Huberman, J. S., Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2017). Examining the time Course of genital and subjective sexual responses in women and men with concurrent plethysmography and thermography. Biological Psychology, 129, 359-369.

Bouchard, K. N., Dawson, S. J., & Lalumière, M. L. (2017). The effects of sex drive and paraphilic interests on paraphilic behaviours in a nonclinical sample of men and women. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 26, 97-111.

Suschinsky, K. D., Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2017). Sexual concordance across the spectrum: Assessing the relationship between sexual concordance, sexual attraction, and sexual identity in women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 179-192.

Dawson, S. J., Fretz, K. M.,* & Chivers, M. L. (2017). Visual attention patterns of women with androphilic and gynephilic sexual attractions. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 141-153.

Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2016). Gender-specificity of initial and controlled visual attention to sexual stimuli in androphilic women and gynephilic men. PloS One.

Sawatsky, M.,* Dawson, S. J., & Lalumière, M. L. (2016). Intercourse between perpetrators and victims following initial sexual assault: The effects of sexual history and relationship status. Journal of Sex Research, 15, 194-203.

Dawson, S. J., Bannerman, B.,* & Lalumière, M. L. (2016). Paraphilic interests: An examination of sex differences in a non-clinical sample. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 28, 20-45.

Davidson, J., Dawson, S. J., & Krsmanovic, A. (2016). Integrating cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) into primary care: Does it work in the real world? Journal of Sleep Research, 25, 92.

Dawson, S. J., Sawatsky, M.,* & Lalumière, M. L. (2015). Assessment of introital lubrication. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 1527-1535.

Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2014) Gender differences and similarities in sexual desire. Current Sexual Health Reports, 6, 211-219.

Dawson, S. J., & Chivers, M. L. (2014) Gender-specificity of solitary and dyadic sexual desire among gynephilic and androphilic women and men. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 11, 980-994.

Dawson, S. J., Lalumière, M. L., Allen, S. W., Vasey, P. L., & Suschinsky, K. D. (2013). Can habituation of sexual responses be elicited in men and women when attention is maintained? Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science, 45, 274-285.

Dawson, S. J., Suschinsky, K. D., & Lalumière, M. L. (2013). Habituation of sexual responses in men and women: A test of the preparation hypothesis of women’s genital responses. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10, 990-1000.

Dawson, S. J., Suschinsky, K. D., & Lalumière, M. L. (2012). Sexual fantasies and viewing time across the menstrual cycle: A diary study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1, 173-183.

Lalumière, M. L., & Dawson S. J. (2012). The challenges of a Darwinian approach to disorders. A review of Maladapting Minds: Philosophy, Psychiatry, and Evolutionary Theory by Pieter R. Adriaens and Andreas De Block (Eds.). Evolutionary Psychology, 10, 727-730.

• Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Award (2021)
• Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) (2019-2020)
• IWK Health Centre Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019-2020)
• Sciences Outstanding Thesis, School of Graduate Studies, Queen’s University (2019)
• The Andrew McGhie Prize in Psychology, Department of Psychology, Queen’s University (2019)
• The James Inglis Prize, Department of Psychology, Queen’s University (2019)
• Certificate of Academic Excellence Doctoral Thesis, Canadian Psychological Association (2018)
• Best Student Manuscript Award, International Academy of Sex Research (2018)
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2016)
• Ontario Trillium Scholarship (2012-2016)
• M.Sc. Medal of Merit, University of Lethbridge (2013)
• Certificate of Academic Excellence Masters Thesis, Canadian Psychological Association (2012)
• Certificate of Academic Excellence, Honours Thesis, Canadian Psychological Association (2010)