William Yarber

William L. Yarber, H.S.D.

Senior scientist

Provost Professor, School of Public Health
Senior Director, Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention
Member, Kinsey Institute Condom Use Research Team

Dr. Yarber is a prominent AIDS/STD prevention researcher. He has authored or co-authored over 150 scientific reports on sexual risk behavior and AIDS/STD prevention in professional journals and has received over $3.5 million in federal grants and state awards to support his research and AIDS/STD prevention efforts. He has also been a consultant to the World Health Organization Global Program on AIDS as well as sexuality and HIV/STI-related organizations in Brazil, China, Jamaica, Poland, Portugal, and Taiwan. 

Dr. Yarber is a member of the the Kinsey Institute Condom Use Research Team (CURT) comprised of researchers from Indiana University, University of Kentucky, University of Guelph (Canada), and University of Southampton (United Kingdom). For over 16 years, with federal and institutional research support, CURT has investigated male condom use errors and problems and has developed behavioral interventions designed to improve correct and consistent condom use.

Dr. Yarber regularly teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in human sexuality. He also chaired the National Guidelines Task Force, which developed the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten–12th Grade (1991, 1996, 2004), published by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) and adapted in six countries worldwide. He has endowed at Indiana University, for perpetuity, the world’s first professorship in sexual health, the William L. Yarber Professorship in Sexual Health. He also endowed the Ryan White and William L. Yarber Lecture Series.

Dr. Yarber is the lead author of the human sexuality textbook, Yarber, W. L., Sayad, B. (2016). Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America, (9th ed., 63 pp.), New York: McGraw-Hill. This text is used in over 300 colleges and universities in the US and has been published in China and Korea.

 yarber@indiana.edu
 (812) 361-3970

School of Public Health 116
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405

Education

  • Ph.D., Health and Safety, Indiana University
  • M.S., Health and Safety, Indiana University
  • B.S., Education, Indiana University

Research interests

  • AIDS/STI prevention
  • Condom use errors
  • Human sexuality education

Selected publications

  • Yarber, W., Sayad, B. (2016). Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America. 9th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 633 pp.
  • Crosby, R., Sanders, S. A., Graham, C. A., Milhausen, R., Yarber, W. L., & Mena, L. (2016). Evaluation of the Condom Barriers Scale for young Black MSM: Reliability and validity of three sub-scales. Submitted: Sexually Transmitted Diseases,
  • Crosby, R. A., Graham, C. A., Yarber, W. L., Sanders, S. A., Milhausen, R. R., Mena, L. (2016). Measures of attitudes toward and communication about condom use: Their relationships with sexual risk among young Black MSM. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 43(2), 94-98.
  • Marshall, A., Yarber, W. L., Sherwood-Laughlin, C. M., Gary, M. L., & Estell. D. B. (2015). Coping and survival skills: The role school personnel play regarding support for bullied sexual minority-oriented youth. Journal of School Health, 85, 334-340.
  • Yarber, W. L., & Sayad, B. (2011). Sexuality education for youth in the United States: Conflict, content, research and recommendation. Kwartalnik Pedagogiczny, 2 (216), 147-164.
  • Yarber, W. L. (2003, 1993). STDS and HIV: A Guide for Today's Teens. Published jointly by the American Association for Health Education and the Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention. (secondary school curriculum: student book, 120 pp; instructor's manual, 98 pp). (first edition, 1993; second edition, 1993)

Selected awards & honors

  • Honoree. Zeta Phi Beta Men’s Appreciation Soiree. Indiana University, Bloomington. March 23, 2015.
  • Co-chair. SIECUS’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. New York City, April 10, 2014. (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States).
  • Fellow (2013). American Association for Health Education.
  • Distinguished Service to SSSS Award, (2008). Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

CV available upon request

IU Signature