Dr. Lynn Elisabeth Ponton (born 3 October 1951) is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and professor at the University of California, San Francisco. She is the author of the books The Sex Lives of Teenagers and The Romance of Risk. Her work in the area of adolescent risk-taking has had a high profile at a time of newfound sexual conservatism. Her media publications include MTV, Salon.com, 60 Minutes, and many more.
1969-1973 University of Wisconsin, Madison: B.A., Cum Laude, Biochemistry
1973-1974 Pasteur Institute, Paris, France: Research Assistant, Biochemistry
1974-1978 University of Wisconsin, Madison: M.D., Medicine
1977-1978 Maudsley and King's College Medical School
1978-1979 St. Vincent's Hospital, New York City: Resident, Pediatrics
1979-1980 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia: Resident, Adult Psychiatry
1980-1981 University of California, San Francisco: Resident, Adult Psychiatry
1981-1983 University of California, San Francisco: Fellow, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
1983-1992 San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute: Psychoanalytic Trainee
1994–present, Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
1988-1994, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
1983-1988, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
The Romance of Risk: Why Teenagers Do The Things They Do (1997) ISBN 978-0-465-07076-3
The Sex Lives of Teenagers: Revealing the Secret World of Adolescent Boys and Girls (2000) ISBN 978-0-452-28260-5
Handbook of Adolescent Health Risk Behavior (Issues in Clinical Child Psychology) (1996, Edited by Ralph DiClemente, William B. Hansen and Lynn E. Ponton) ISBN 978-0-306-45147-8
