Faculty Directory
Paul Poteat
Program Director, Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology, Ph.D.
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
Adolescent Development
Interpersonal Relationships
Quantitative Research Design in Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology聽
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 is a Professor of Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College. He conducts research on the school-based experiences of LGBTQ+ youth. His research on Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) has identified individual- and group-level mechanisms by which these extracurricular groups promote empowerment and resilience among youth from diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Likewise, his work has identified how the implementation of LGBTQ+ inclusive school policies and practices promote LGBTQ+ youth鈥檚 wellbeing and academic engagement. His work has also examined bias-based harassment to identify individual and peer factors that contribute to such behavior or that buffer against its effects. Dr. Poteat鈥檚 research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). He 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 Society for Research in Child Development, where he served as Co-Chair of the Equity and Justice Committee and currently serves as a member-at-large of Governing Council.
Select Publications
- Poteat, V. P., Rumberger, J., Shah, K. D., Jin, H., Miller, J. D., & Yoshikawa, H. (in press). Inclusive policies in progressive states: Implementation thoroughness predicts academic engagement, disaffection with learning, and victimization among LGBTQ+ students. Educational Researcher.听
- Poteat, V. P., Lipkin, A., Bliss, C. C., Rumberger, J., Zhong, Z., & Marx, R. A. (2026). Adult advisor efficacy to support LGBTQ+ youth as a predictor of LGBTQ+ youth鈥檚 experiences in Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) and at school. Journal of Adolescence, 98(3), 965-977.
- Poteat, V. P., Richburg, A., Day, J., Finch, E., K., Calzo, J. P., Marx, R. A., Lipkin, A., & Yoshikawa, H. (2025). LGBTQ+ advocacy and inclusive school policies are associated with self-worth among youth in Gender-Sexuality Alliances over the school year. Developmental Psychology, 61(11), 2106-2118.听
- Poteat, V. P., Yoshikawa, H., Rosenbach, S. B., Sherwood, S. H., Finch, E. K., & Calzo, J. P. (2025). GSA advocacy predicts reduced depression disparities between LGBQ+ and heterosexual youth in schools. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 54(4), 501-513.听
- Poteat, V. P., Calzo, J. P., Yoshikawa, H., Kellogg, D., Marx, R. A., Richburg, A., & Lipkin, A. (2025). Youth experiences in Gender-Sexuality Alliances predict academic engagement but not disaffection through social-emotional wellbeing. Child Development, 96(2), 847-864.听
- Poteat, V. P., & Kiekens, W. J. (2025). LGBTQ+ youth advocacy in Gender-Sexuality Alliances: Factors that coincide with and predict involvement over time. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 54(7), 1601-1614.听
- Poteat, V. P., Marx, R. A., Richburg, A., Calzo, J. P., Bliss, C. C., Yoshikawa, H., & Lipkin, A. (2025). Gender-Sexuality Alliance experiences and LGBTQ+ inclusive school policies and practices predict youth鈥檚 school belonging. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 54(1), 1-16.听
- 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.听
- Poteat, V. P., Marx, R. A., Sherwood, S. H., Calzo, J. P., & Yoshikawa, H. (2024). LGBTQ+ students鈥� weekly academic engagement and disaffection predicted by experiences in Gender-Sexuality Alliance meetings. Learning and Instruction, 90, Article 101853.听
- Poteat, V. P., Calzo, J. P., Sherwood, S. H., Marx, R. A., O鈥橞rien, 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(4), e215-e230.
Select Grants
Principal Investigator.听Building EPIC-Health: An empowerment program for LGBTQ+ students in school GSAs.聽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 鈥� 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 鈥� June 2024.
Co-Investigator. SGM Youth Substance Use: Subgroup Differences, Risk, and Protective Factors. National Institutes of Health 鈥� National Institute on Drug Abuse. Co-Principal Investigators: Ryan J. Watson, Jessica N. Fish. Grant Number: R03DA046827. Amount: $182,051. Period: September 2019 鈥� August 2021.
Principal Investigator. Mechanisms of health promotion in diverse youth through Gay-Straight Alliances. National Institutes of Health 鈥� National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Co-Investigators: Jerel Calzo, Hirokazu Yoshikawa. Grant Number: R01MD009458. Amount: $1,548,270. Period: September 2015 鈥� 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 鈥� 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 鈥� April 2013.