Bradley Bond, PhD
Assistant Professor, Communication Studies
Bradley J. Bond, PhD, joined the department of Communication Studies in 2012. Bond offers courses on media effects, communication theory, and research methods. Bond’s research focuses on the relationship between media exposure, identity, and health. His current work examines the development and maintenance of parasocial relationships and the influence of media on the sexual identities and sexual health of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents.
Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Communication
M.A., University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Speech Communication
B.A., Bradley University, Communication
Scholarly and Creative Work
Bond takes a social psychological approach to investigating the relationship between media exposure and various health- and identity-related outcomes among child and adolescent populations. Bond’s present research employs content analysis, survey, and experimental methods to better understand how sex is portrayed in the media and the effects of media exposure on the sexual identities and sexual behaviors of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Additionally, Bond studies how audiences develop parasocial relationships with fictional characters and how the strength of those relationships may influence learning from media characters among audiences. Bond’s work on media effects has received top paper awards from the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association. His dissertation was also recognized as the top dissertation in Children, Adolescents, and Media from the International Communication Association. His research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Communication, Media Psychology, Mass Communication and Society, Journal of Children and Media, Sexuality & Culture, and Early Education and Development, to name a few. He has also contributed to multiple edited volumes on children, adolescents, and the media.
Bond’s teaching interests include media history, media psychology, theory, and research methods. He has been recognized for his experiential teaching by several student organizations on campus. Bond teaches Media Processes and Effects, Children and Media, Introduction to Media Studies, Introduction to Research, and Human Communication Theory at the University of San Diego.