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Leigh Spivey-Rita

Leigh Spivey-Rita

Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry
2608 Erwin Road, Box 102505, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Publications

Forms of Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Suicidal Ideation: A Prospective Examination of African-American and Latinx Youth.

Journal Article J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol · 2022 Although suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents, research revealing potent predictors of suicidal thoughts above and beyond the effects of depressive symptoms is limited, especially among racial and ethnic minority youth. This prosp ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cardiovascular and cortisol responses to experimentally-induced minority stress.

Journal Article Health Psychol · May 2021 OBJECTIVE: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who report greater minority stress (e.g., discrimination) are at an elevated risk for multiple health problems. However, few studies have examined physiological mechanisms that might link minority str ... Full text Link to item Cite

Developmental patterns of sexual identity, romantic attraction, and sexual behavior among adolescents over three years.

Journal Article J Adolesc · December 2019 INTRODUCTION: Adolescents are heterogeneous in how they define and experience their sexual orientation, which can include specific identity labels, romantic attractions, and other- and/or same-sex sexual behavior. These three components of sexual orientati ... Full text Link to item Cite

Social Context of Sexual Minority Adolescents and Relationship to Alcohol Use.

Journal Article J Adolesc Health · May 2019 PURPOSE: Peer relationships are especially relevant during adolescence and may contribute to sexuality-based disparities in substance use. This study uses social network analysis to examine how social networks may serve as risk or protective factors for se ... Full text Link to item Cite

A Preliminary Examination of the Association between Adolescent Gender Nonconformity and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors.

Journal Article J Abnorm Child Psychol · April 2019 Suicidal thoughts and behaviors are a significant health concern for adolescents. Extant research suggests that sexual and gender minority adolescents are a vulnerable population at elevated risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors, yet to date few studies ... Full text Link to item Cite

Future Directions in Affirmative Psychological Interventions with Transgender Children and Adolescents.

Journal Article J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol · 2019 Transgender children and adolescents experience a gender identity that is incongruent with their sex assigned at birth, often resulting in gender dysphoria. Emerging literature has explored the etiology of transgender identities, documented transgender you ... Full text Link to item Cite

Parent responses to childhood gender nonconformity: Effects of parent and child characteristics

Journal Article Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity · September 1, 2018 Many children display traits, interests, or behaviors not stereotypically associated with their sex. Little is known about the factors influencing how parents respond to their children engaging in gender-nonconforming behaviors, yet the way parents respond ... Full text Cite

Colorful success: preschoolers' use of perceptual color cues to solve a spatial reasoning problem.

Journal Article J Exp Child Psychol · December 2012 Spatial reasoning, a crucial skill for everyday actions, develops gradually during the first several years of childhood. Previous studies have shown that perceptual information and problem solving strategies are critical for successful spatial reasoning in ... Full text Link to item Cite