Faculty Directory
Paul Poteat
Professor
Paul Poteat
Ph.D.
Contact
Campion 209
Telephone: 617-552-4234
Email: paul.poteat.1@bc.edu
Education
- Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- B.S., Florida State University
Courses
Interpersonal Relations
Adolescent Development
Research Interests
School-based experiences of LGBTQIA+ youth; Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs); Positive youth development, empowerment, and thriving
Expertise
- Gender & Sexual Orientation
- Equity and Social Justice
- Social & Emotional Development
Department
Biography
Paul Poteat conducts research on the school-based experiences of sexual and gender minority youth (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth). His research on Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs; also known as Gay-Straight Alliances) has identified individual- and group-level mechanisms by which these school-based extracurricular groups promote empowerment and resilience among youth from diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. His work also examines bias-based harassment (e.g., based on sexual orientation or gender identity) using an ecological framework to consider individual and peer factors that contribute to such behavior or that buffer against its effects. Dr. Poteat’s research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
Dr. Poteat has served as Co-Editor at the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ) and Associate Editor at the Journal of Research on Adolescence (JRA) and The Counseling Psychologist (TCP). He is actively involved in the professional organizations of the Society for Research on Adolescence and Society for Research in Child Development, where he served as Co-Chair of the Equity and Justice Committee.
Select Publications
- Poteat, V. P., Calzo, J. P., Yoshikawa, H., Kellogg, D., Marx, R. A., Richburg, A., & Lipkin, A. (in press). Youth experiences in Gender-Sexuality Alliances predict academic engagement but not disaffection through social-emotional wellbeing. Child Development.
- Poteat, V. P., Yoshikawa, H., Rosenbach, S. B., Sherwood, S. H., Finch, E. K., & Calzo, J. P. (in press). GSA advocacy predicts reduced depression disparities between LGBQ+ and heterosexual youth in schools. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology.
- Poteat, V. P., Marx, R. A., Richburg, A., Calzo, J. P., Bliss, C. C., Yoshikawa, H., & Lipkin, A. (in press). Gender-Sexuality Alliance experiences and LGBTQ+ inclusive school policies and practices predict youth’s school belonging. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
- Poteat, V. P., Marx, R. A., Sherwood, S. H., Calzo, J. P., & Yoshikawa, H. (2024). LGBTQ+ students’ weekly academic engagement and disaffection predicted by experiences in Gender-Sexuality Alliance meetings. Learning and Instruction, 90, Article 101853.
- Poteat, V. P., Calzo, J. P., Richburg, A., Marx, R. A., & Yoshikawa, H. (2024). How Gender-Sexuality Alliances cultivate a sense of school belonging from week to week among LGBTQ+ youth. Journal of School Psychology, 105, Article 101329.
- Poteat, V. P., Calzo, J. P., Sherwood, S. H., Marx, R. A., O’Brien, M. D., Dangora, A., Salgin, L., & Lipkin, A. (2023). Gender-Sexuality Alliance meeting experiences predict weekly variation in hope among LGBTQ+ youth. Child Development, 94, e215-e230.
Select Grants
Principal Investigator. Building EPIC-Health: An empowerment program for LGBTQ+ students in school GSAs. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Co-Investigators: Jerel Calzo, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, & Robert Marx. Grant Number: R305A240326. Amount: $1,992,348. Period: August 2024 – July 2028.
Principal Investigator. High school Gay-Straight Alliances: Practices that predict academic success. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Co-Investigators: Jerel Calzo, Hirokazu Yoshikawa. Grant Number: R305A190165. Amount: $1,360,196. Period: July 2019 – June 2024.
Co-Investigator. SGM Youth Substance Use: Subgroup Differences, Risk, and Protective Factors. National Institutes of Health – National Institute on Drug Abuse. Co-Principal Investigators: Ryan J. Watson, Jessica N. Fish. Grant Number: R03DA046827. Amount: $182,051. Period: September 2019 – August 2021.
Principal Investigator. Mechanisms of health promotion in diverse youth through Gay-Straight Alliances. National Institutes of Health – National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Co-Investigators: Jerel Calzo, Hirokazu Yoshikawa. Grant Number: R01MD009458. Amount: $1,548,270. Period: September 2015 – June 2019.
Principal Investigator. LGBT youth discipline disparities and bias: An empirical model to inform practice. Open Society Foundation. Amount: $25,326. Period: May 2013 – May 2014.
Principal Investigator. Contextualizing Gay-Straight Alliances: Who they serve and variability in how they function as youth settings. William T. Grant Foundation. Co-Principal Investigator: Hirokazu Yoshikawa. Grant Number: OR181301. Amount: $24,754. Period: April 2012 – April 2013.