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 150 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 and on Instagram at DrAbbieGoldberg.
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 2023-2024 application cycle: Dr. Goldberg may take a student.
Recent media (selected):
- Interviewed for Good Housekeeping, “Why won’t the myth of the ‘primary parent’ disappear already?”, December 27, 2023.
- Podcast interview, Challenge. Change., “Queer lives, true crime, and the criminal justice system,” December 1, 2023.
- Podcast interview, Open Adoption Project, “Adoption through a scholarly lens with Professor Abbie Goldberg,” 9/25/23.
- Interviewed for Q Salt Lake, “Two dads, good job,” 9/8/23
- Interviewed for Education Week, “’Don’t Say Gay’ law has some Florida parents considering moves out of state,” 8/14/23
- Interviewed for Washington Examiner, “Democrats want to flee Florida over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law, GOP urges ‘perverted exodus,” 8/9/23
- TV interview, WESH 2 (Orlando, FL), “Project Unity: Pride in Florida”, 6/28/23
- Research discussed in New York Times opinion article, “LGBTQ Americans could become a ‘new class of political refugees,” 6/14/23
- TV interview for NBC-WESH 2 (Orlando), “Human Rights Campaign declares state of emergency after new Florida laws signed (wesh.com),” 6/7/23
- Interviewed for WUSF News/WLRN 91.3/NPR segment, “LGBTQ parents think of moving from Florida, citing laws that target their children,” 4/12/23
- Interviewed for Rolling Stone, “We exist”: Wellesley trans students say it’s not just a women’s college,” 3/17/23
- Interviewed for Parents, “How to find an LGBTQ+ inclusive daycare,” 2/23/23.
- Interviewed for USA Today, “A mom is accused of killing her 3 children. It sparked a national conversation about postpartum psychosis,” 2/15/23
- Interviewed for the 19th, “More than half of Florida queer parents have considered fleeing the state in the wake of Don’t Say Gay, study finds,” 2/9/23
- Interviewed for Parents magazine, “I’m a postpartum survivor—but I could have been Lindsay Clancy,” 2/1/23
- Interviewed for the Boston Globe, “It’s hard to be a new mom. For some, a lonely struggle can spiral into mental illness,” 1/28/23
- TV interview for WJAR/NBC 10 News, “Effective treatments are available for postpartum depression, psychosis,” 1/27/23
- Interviewed for New York Daily News, “Over half of LGBTQ parents surveyed in Florida considered leaving state over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law,” 1/25/23.