Russ Toomey, PhD

Dr. Russ Toomey’s (he/they) scholarship seeks to promote thriving among sexual and gender minority youth, particularly among Latinx youth in the U.S. Southwest. Their studies identify how supportive and harmful behaviors and policies in a variety of contexts (schools, families, and governments) affect sexual and gender minority youth’s well-being, such as family engagement in accepting behaviors (e.g., using the pronouns requested by the child) or school policies that restrict trans and nonbinary youths’ experiences (e.g., not allowing students to participate in sports that are consistent with their gender). Dr. Toomey’s current work is focused on how legislation targeting trans and nonbinary youths’ experiences in schools, healthcare, and families affects youths’ mental health and their parents’ mental health. Additionally, in separate studies, he examines how Latinx cultural values shape sexual and gender minority youths’ identities and experiences in families and schools. At the University of Arizona, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on professional development, human sexuality, and advanced graduate-level applied statistics. Dr. Toomey serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and has previously served as a member of the Executive Council for the Society for Research on Adolescence and the Governing Council of the Society for Research in Child Development.