Dr. Avery has a joint faculty appointment in the Departments of Psychology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality. Her overarching research interests are at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and media. Specifically, she is interested in Black women’s intersectional identity development and how the negotiation of dominant gender ideologies and gendered racial stereotypes are associated with adverse psychological and sexual health outcomes. Currently, she has several lines of research that focus on understanding the social, cultural, and structural factors that contribute to Black women’s health disparities and relational agency. Specifically, her work examines how exposure to gendered racism impacts Black women’s psycho-social development, and the contributing role of media (mainstream, digital, and social) use on Black women’s identity, self-esteem, victimization experiences, and mental health outcomes.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Matsuzaka, S., Avery, L. R., & Espinel, S. (2023). Black sexual minority women’s internalized stigma and coping motivated alcohol use: The role of emotional suppression. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2023.2220656

Matsuzaka, S., Avery, L. R., & Stanton, A. G. (2023). Black women’s social media use integration and social media addiction: The need to connect with Black women. Social Media & Society. Advance online publication. http://doi.org./10.1177/20563051221148977

Matsuzaka, S., Avery, L. R., & Stanton, A. G. (2022). Online victimization, womanism, and body esteem among young Black women: A structural equation modeling approach. Sex Roles, 86(11-12), 681-694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01296-z  

Avery, L. R., Stanton, A. G., Ward, L., Trinh, S., Cole, E. R., & Jerald, M. (2022). The strong, silent (gender) type: The strong Black woman ideal, self-silencing, and sexual assertiveness in Black college women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51, 1509–1520. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02179-2

Avery, L. R., Stanton, A. G., Ward, L., Trinh, S., Cole, E. R., & Jerald, M. (2021). Remixing the script?: The role of culturally targeted media consumption on young Black women’s heteropatriarchal romantic relationship beliefs. Journal of Black Psychology, 47(7), 593-625. https://doi.org/10.1177/00957984211021236

Avery, L. R., Stanton, A. G., Trinh, S. L., Ward, L. M., Jerald, M. C., & Cole, E. R. (2021). “Pretty hurts”: Acceptance of hegemonic feminine beauty ideals and reduced sexual well-being among Black women. Body Image, 38,181-190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2021.04.004

Avery, L. R., and Stanton, A. G. (2020). Subverting the mandates of our methods: Tensions and considerations for incorporating reproductive justice frameworks into psychological science. Journal of Social Issues, 76, 447-455. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12386