Welcome! These pages contain general information about Abbie Goldberg’s research, teaching, and professional interests, and links to more detailed information about these topics.
Abbie E. Goldberg is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she also currently serves as the Director of Women’s & Gender Studies, and is the current holder of the Jan and Larry Landry Endowed Chair (2020-2023). She graduated summa cum laude from Wesleyan University with a BA in psychology, and received an MA in psychology and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Goldberg is an internationally recognized scholar, speaker, and consultant, who is regularly interviewed by media outlets including the New York Times, The Atlantic, the Boston Globe, and New York Magazine. Her research examines diverse families, including LGBTQ-parent families and adoptive-parent families, as well as the experiences of marginalized groups such as trans youth. A central theme of her research is the decentering of any “normal” or “typical” family, sexuality, or gender, to allow room for diverse families, sexualities, and genders.
Dr. Goldberg is the author of over 140 peer-reviewed articles, over 25 book chapters, and four books: LGBTQ Family Building: A Guide for Prospective Parents (APA; 2022), Open Adoption & Diverse Families (Oxford; 2020), Gay Dads (NYU Press; 2012), Lesbian and Gay Parents and their Children (APA; 2010). She is the co-editor of four books: LGBTQ-Parent Families: Innovations in Research and Implications for Practice (Springer; 2013, 2020), LGBTQ Divorce and Relationship Dissolution (Oxford, 2019), the SAGE Trans Encyclopedia (SAGE; 2021), and the SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies (SAGE; 2016). Her research has been cited in numerous amicus briefs filed in cases related to marriage equality, gay adoption, trans civil rights, and other topics (e.g., Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015; Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, 2021). She currently serves as a Deputy Editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family, and serves as an editorial board member on seven journals. She has received research funding from the American Psychological Association, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Williams Institute, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, the National Institutes of Health, and the Spencer Foundation, among other sources. She teaches courses on diversity in contemporary families, research methods with diverse families, human sexuality, the psychology of sexual orientation, gender and crime, and ethics in clinical psychology.
Her curriculum vitae can be found here.
Follow her on Twitter at: DrAbbieG.
Major Interests: adoptive families; open adoption; transracial adoption; foster care; reproductive technologies; gay/lesbian parenting; human sexuality; family diversity; the transition to parenthood; the division of labor; gender and parenthood; schools and diverse families; schools and trans/gender nonconforming individuals.
Non-Academic Interests: Dogs, cats, and other creatures; seeing live music and art; running, hiking, and yoga.
For students applying to the doctoral program in clinical psychology during the 2022-2023 application cycle: Dr. Goldberg will likely not take a student in 2023.
Recent media interviews:
- Podcast interview, Creating a Family (with Dawn Davenport), on teachers and adoption, 7/20/22.
- Interviewed for Teen Vogue, “LGBTQ people on hope after thoughts of suicide,” 5/12/22.
- Interviewed for PsychCentral, “What I wish more people knew about queer parenthood,” 5/9/22.
- Podcast interview, “How To Talk to Kids About Anything” (with Dr. Robyn Silverman), 5/2/22.
- Podcast interview, “Pulled By The Root” (with Heidi Marble), 4/1/22.
- Interviewed for The New York Times, “Separated but under the same roof,” 4/1/22.
- Interviewed for PsychCentral, “How Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill could impact LGBTQ youth mental health,” 3/11/22.
- Interviewed for PsychCentral, “Texas AG makes inaccurate claims about hormone therapy for trans youth,” 3/1/22.
- Interviewed for Metro Weekly, “President Biden slams Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay bill,” 2/9/22; Letter to Editor also printed in Florida Today (2/21/22)
- Book featured in Publisher’s Weekly Family matters: Parenting books 2022, 1/21/22
- Interviewed for Salon, “What makes some people hold transphobic views?” 1/17/22
- Interviewed for 19thnews, “Anti-trans bills hurt mental health for two-thirds of LGBTQ+ youth,” 1/10/22.
- New website featured in Mombian, “New Resource for Parents and Teachers to Make Schools More Inclusive of LGBTQ+ Families – Mombian,” 12/13/21.
- Research featured in New York Magazine, “She supported her child being trans. So the state separated them,” 12/15/21.
- Podcast interview, “Creating a family” (with Dawn Davenport), on LGBTQ adoption and foster care, 12/15/21.
- Interviewed for PsychCentral, “LGBTQ youth report more bullying and suicidality, but affirming schools an help,” 11/19/2021.
- Interviewed for PsychCentral, “Deadnaming: How using the wrong name can affect mental health,” 11/15/21.
- Interviewed for Chegg Life, “How to tell if a college campus is trans-inclusive (chegg.com),” 10/11/21.
- Interviewed for the New York Times, “How same-sex parents share the mental load,” 8/25/21.