SPARTA Lab

Sexuality, Personality, and Addiction Research Throughout Adulthood

The SPARTA lab (Sexuality, Personality, and Addiction Research Throughout Adulthood) at Bowling Green State University is comprised of myself, my current graduate students, and a number of undergraduate students. At this point in time, our research group has several lines of research in various stages of development. Current projects include studies of sexual values, morality and pornography use, self-determination theory and religion, sexuality and spiritual functioning, and social determinants of beliefs about addiction. Current graduate student members of our lab include Jenny Grant, Joel Engelman, Shanti James, Brinna Lee, Camille Hoagland, and Chris Floyd.

We are hoping to add one additional graduate student lab member for the Fall of 2022. If you are interested in applying to work with us in the SPARTA Lab, information on applying to BGSU’s clinical psychology PhD program is available here: https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/psychology/graduate-program/prospective-students.html

Please note, the deadline for application is December 1st, 2021.

Selected Publications

Representative publications from myself and the SPARTA lab.

(2021). Pornography Use and Psychological Science: A Call for Consideration. Current Directions in Psychological Science.

Source Document

(2019). Internet Pornography Use and Sexual Motivation: A Systematic Review and Integration. Annals of the ICA.

Preprint PDF Source Document

(2019). Pornography Problems Due to Moral Incongruence: An Integrative Model with a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Source Document

(2018). Moral disapproval and perceived addiction to internet pornography: A longitudinal examination. Addiction.

Source Document

(2018). Moral incongruence and pornography use: A critical review and integration. Journal of Sex Research.

Preprint Source Document

Publications

Current Projects

Funded research and funding applications in the SPARTA Lab

The SPARTA lab has a number of ongoing projects, many of which have been supported by external funding mechanisms. In addition, we have a number of new funding applications in preparation or under review. Below, you can see summaries of those projects.

Gambling and Traumatic Stress: Analyses in Veteran and Community Samples

2017: A one year seed grant funded by the National Center of Responsible Gaming. PI: Joshua B. Grubbs, Ph.D.

Moral Grandstanding

2017-2020: A multi-project research program funded by the Charles Koch Foundation, the National Institute for Civil Discourse, and Bowling Green State University. PI: Joshua B. Grubbs, Ph.D., Co-PI’s Brandon Warmke and Justin Tosi

Student Projects

The students in the SPARTA lab have a number of research projects going on involving sexuality, behavioral addictions (such as gambling or compulsive sexuality), religious and spiritual struggles, religious disaffiliation, and internet pornography use habits. Please click on any student below to learn more about their research and the research of the SPARTA lab.

Brinna Lee

4th year clinical psychology PhD student.

Camille Hoagland

3rd year clinical psychology PhD student.

Christopher Floyd

1st year clinical psychology PhD student.

Jenny Grant

6th year clinical psychology PhD student; clinical psychology intern

Joel Engelman

5th year clinical psychology PhD student.

Shanti James

5th year clinical psychology PhD student.

Recent Posts

A collection of my writing for popular audiences

Over the years I have written a number of popular media summaries relevant to my research, my experiences as a clinical psychological scientist, and my experiences as a professor. Below, you can find links to these various posts.

Grubbs, J. B. (2021). If you think you’ve got a porn addiction, you probably haven’t; from: https://psyche.co/ideas/if-you-think-youve-got-a-porn-addiction-you-probably-havent

Grubbs, J. B. (2021). ‘Sex addiction’ isn’t a justification for killing, or really an addiction – it reflects a person’s own moral misgivings about sex; from: https://theconversation.com/sex-addiction-isnt-a-justification-for-killing-or-really-an-addiction-it-reflects-a-persons-own-moral-misgivings-about-sex-157543

Grubbs, J. B. (2021). Atlanta-area spa killings were not about sexual addiction; from: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2021/03/23/sexual-addiction-spa-murders-atlanta-column/4771686001/

Grubbs, J. B. (2020). Porn use is up, thanks to the pandemic; from https://theconversation.com/porn-use-is-up-thanks-to-the-pandemic-134972

Grubbs, J. B. (2020). Think twice before shouting your virtues online – moral grandstanding is toxic; from https://theconversation.com/think-twice-before-shouting-your-virtues-online-moral-grandstanding-is-toxic-128493

Grubbs, J. B. (2019). Politics, Pornography, and Public Health; from https://medium.com/@joshuagrubbsphd/politics-pornography-and-public-health-88c703e4e278

Grubbs, J. B. (2018). Why I Won’t Bring My Gun Into My Classroom: Educating can’t happen if the educators are armed. Here’s why; from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-23/a-professor-s-plea-teachers-can-t-teach-with-guns

Grubbs, J. B.(2018). Educators should not be armed in their classrooms (opinion) | Inside Higher Ed; from https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2018/02/26/educators-should-not-be-armed-their-classrooms-opinion

Grubbs, J. B. (2017). Why Returning a Diploma Matters; from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-returning-a-diploma-matters_b_59a1a5aae4b0d0ef9f1c145f

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