Katherine A Kuvalanka
Biographic Data
| ID | 77681 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Katherine A Kuvalanka |
| GIVEN NAMES | Katherine A |
| FAMILY NAME | Kuvalanka |
| SIGNATURE | KUVALANKA K A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Miami University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 117 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Custody cases involving transgender and gender‐expansive youth
There is an increasing number of high‐conflict custody cases involving transgender and gender expansive (TGE) youth within family courts. The current sociopolitical climate, giving rise to an unprecedented amount of anti‐transgender legislation, adds further complexity to decision‐making and creates a contentious and unpredictable climate for TGE youth and affirming parents in family court. Although researchers in health, child development, and w…
Viewing the Family Court Experiences of Affirming Parents and Their Transgender and Gender Diverse Children Through the Lens of Intersectionality
An intersectionality framework was utilized to investigate how sexism, racism, classism, and anti‐transgender bias played a role in one custody case involving a transgender child. This case study—the story of a Black Latina affirming mother, who underwent a seven‐year custody battle with the white father of their biracial transgender daughter—provided an opportunity to consider ways that intersecting biases can work to oppress affirming parents a…
Grandmothers raising their transgender grandchildren
This exploratory study builds upon previous research relating to grandparents of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth by investigating the experiences of 2 affirming grandmothers raising their transgender granddaughters (age 6 years at T1). Participants reported experiences similar to those reported by affirming parents of TGD children, such as facing resistance from their communities when affirming the children’s gender identities. Similar…
Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students
An increasing number of young adults identify with nonbinary gender identities. Yet health providers and therapists often lack understanding of such identities. In this mixed-methods study of 506 transgender undergraduate and graduate students, most of whom (75%) had nonbinary gender identities, we aimed to understand participants’ mental health and health care experiences, and factors related to misgendering and less affirming treatment by provi…
Trans Families
Transgender graduate students’ experiences in higher education
Little research has explored the experiences of transgender or gender-nonconforming (TGNC) students in higher education. Further, only 1 study has included the perspectives of TGNC graduate students (McKinney, 2005), and the experiences of students who identify with nonbinary gender identities (e.g., genderqueer, agender) are scarce in the literature (Nicolazzo, 2016a, 2016b). This study aims to address these gaps. Ninety-one graduate students co…
Navigating identity development and community belonging when “there are only two boxes to check”
Within the small research literature on transgender college students, little work has focused on nonbinary trans students. Findings from focus groups with seven nonbinary trans students revealed that participants explored and found support for their nonbinary trans identities online and offline, valuing in particular the support of other nonbinary people and the opportunities afforded in a college setting. Participants often felt compelled to be …
Perspectives of Mothers of Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
This study represents findings from interviews at two time points with three mothers of transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) children (ages 8 to 12 years at T1) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Of interest was the mothers' experiences of raising a TGNC child with ASD, and whether/how the children's autism played a role in their understandings of their children's gender identities and expressions. The mothers' fear of a transphobic/cisn…
Ambiguous Loss as a Framework for Interpreting Gender Transitions in Families
In this article, we use an ambiguous loss framework to guide a process for decentering cisnormativity (the assumption that biological sex and gender are aligned) within families, specifically for those experiencing the gender identity transitions of family members. Individual family members have varied experiences with regard to gender transition and may or may not experience ambiguous loss depending on their position within the family system. Tr…
Transfamily Theory
The presence of a trans* family member can challenge existing theoretical notions about the development of gender in families. Emerging knowledge about trans* identities consolidates around 5 primary challenges to existing theoretical notions of gender: (a) non‐dimorphic sex, (b) nonbinary gender, (c) the biological and social construction of gender, (d) gender identity development, and (e) family meaning making about transgender identity. These …
Child, Family, and Community Transformations
The present study represents findings from interviews with five mothers, each of whom had a transgender child. All of the transgender children were natal/biological males between the ages of 8 and 11 years old and had socially transitioned to living as girls. Ehrensaft's (2012) notion of the “true gender self” was integrated with an ecological perspective to examine multiple interacting contexts, including family, neighborhood, and school, in whi…
Coping With Sexual Stigma
Little is known about how youth with LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) parents experience various forms of sexual stigma (i.e., homophobia and heterosexism). Previous studies have focused primarily on frequency of teasing and harassment; therefore, much less is known about how indirect and institutional types of sexual stigma play out in the lives of these youth. In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 emerging adults with lesbian …
From Ball Culture to the Gay Rodeo
Marriage (In)equality
The debate over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into civil marriages continues in the United States. Forty-nine adolescents and emerging adults (ages 14-29) with lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents were interviewed for the current exploratory study, which examined how individuals perceived themselves and their families as being affected by marriage (in)equality, as well as the factors that shaped their perspectives. More than t…
To Be Jewish and Lesbian
Research is limited when it comes to religion and the lives of sexual minority individuals, including Jewish lesbians. Symbolic interactionism and social exchange theory guided the development of this qualitative study, for which 10 Jewish lesbian/bisexual women were interviewed to explore the role that religion played in their lives as adults and partners. Findings indicate that inclusive climates aided in participants’ successful integration of…
Sexual socialization in lesbian-parent families
Few studies have examined the sexual socialization of children within lesbian-parent families, despite evidence that these children may experience benefits in this regard. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 partnered, lesbian mothers to explore what and how participants taught their children about sexuality-related issues. Themes related to what participants taught their children about these topics included diverse notions of sexual or…
Queering “the Family”
Second Generation” Voices
Same-Sex Couples
In this article, the authors present a typology for organizing our current knowledge regarding same-sex couples in the United States who have and have not established legal ties between partners. This framework is complemented by a discussion of key rulings that define what is legally possible as well as the introduction of 'legal consciousness,' a construct for examining how perceptions of legal authority drive engagement with the legal system. …
Colage
COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) is a national, non-profit organization run by and for children who have one or more gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender (GLBT) parents. Our mission is to engage, connect, and empower people to make the world a better place for children of GLBT parents and families. This article chronicles COLAGE's work within the context of the larger GLBT-family movement. A review is made of the emotional …
Social skills and behavior problems of urban, African American preschoolers
This study examined the role of parenting, family routines, family conflict, and maternal depression in predicting the social skills and behavior problems of low-income African American preschoolers. A sample of 184 African American mothers of Head Start children completed participant and child measures in a structured interview. Results of regression analyses revealed that mothers who utilized more positive parenting practices and engaged in mor…
Is American Family Law Queer Enough for Contemporary Families
Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students
An increasing number of young adults identify with nonbinary gender identities. Yet health providers and therapists often lack understanding of such identities. In this mixed-methods study of 506 transgender undergraduate and graduate students, most of whom (75%) had nonbinary gender identities, we aimed to understand participants’ mental health and health care experiences, and factors related to misgendering and less affirming treatment by provi…
Transfamily Theory
The presence of a trans* family member can challenge existing theoretical notions about the development of gender in families. Emerging knowledge about trans* identities consolidates around 5 primary challenges to existing theoretical notions of gender: (a) non‐dimorphic sex, (b) nonbinary gender, (c) the biological and social construction of gender, (d) gender identity development, and (e) family meaning making about transgender identity. These …
Navigating identity development and community belonging when “there are only two boxes to check”
Within the small research literature on transgender college students, little work has focused on nonbinary trans students. Findings from focus groups with seven nonbinary trans students revealed that participants explored and found support for their nonbinary trans identities online and offline, valuing in particular the support of other nonbinary people and the opportunities afforded in a college setting. Participants often felt compelled to be …
Coping With Sexual Stigma
Little is known about how youth with LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) parents experience various forms of sexual stigma (i.e., homophobia and heterosexism). Previous studies have focused primarily on frequency of teasing and harassment; therefore, much less is known about how indirect and institutional types of sexual stigma play out in the lives of these youth. In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 emerging adults with lesbian …
Transgender graduate students’ experiences in higher education
Little research has explored the experiences of transgender or gender-nonconforming (TGNC) students in higher education. Further, only 1 study has included the perspectives of TGNC graduate students (McKinney, 2005), and the experiences of students who identify with nonbinary gender identities (e.g., genderqueer, agender) are scarce in the literature (Nicolazzo, 2016a, 2016b). This study aims to address these gaps. Ninety-one graduate students co…
Ambiguous Loss as a Framework for Interpreting Gender Transitions in Families
In this article, we use an ambiguous loss framework to guide a process for decentering cisnormativity (the assumption that biological sex and gender are aligned) within families, specifically for those experiencing the gender identity transitions of family members. Individual family members have varied experiences with regard to gender transition and may or may not experience ambiguous loss depending on their position within the family system. Tr…
Marriage (In)equality
The debate over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into civil marriages continues in the United States. Forty-nine adolescents and emerging adults (ages 14-29) with lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents were interviewed for the current exploratory study, which examined how individuals perceived themselves and their families as being affected by marriage (in)equality, as well as the factors that shaped their perspectives. More than t…
Second Generation” Voices
Same-Sex Couples
In this article, the authors present a typology for organizing our current knowledge regarding same-sex couples in the United States who have and have not established legal ties between partners. This framework is complemented by a discussion of key rulings that define what is legally possible as well as the introduction of 'legal consciousness,' a construct for examining how perceptions of legal authority drive engagement with the legal system. …
Perspectives of Mothers of Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
This study represents findings from interviews at two time points with three mothers of transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) children (ages 8 to 12 years at T1) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Of interest was the mothers' experiences of raising a TGNC child with ASD, and whether/how the children's autism played a role in their understandings of their children's gender identities and expressions. The mothers' fear of a transphobic/cisn…
From Ball Culture to the Gay Rodeo
Colage
COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) is a national, non-profit organization run by and for children who have one or more gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender (GLBT) parents. Our mission is to engage, connect, and empower people to make the world a better place for children of GLBT parents and families. This article chronicles COLAGE's work within the context of the larger GLBT-family movement. A review is made of the emotional …
Social skills and behavior problems of urban, African American preschoolers
This study examined the role of parenting, family routines, family conflict, and maternal depression in predicting the social skills and behavior problems of low-income African American preschoolers. A sample of 184 African American mothers of Head Start children completed participant and child measures in a structured interview. Results of regression analyses revealed that mothers who utilized more positive parenting practices and engaged in mor…
Same-Sex Couples
In this article, the authors present a typology for organizing our current knowledge regarding same-sex couples in the United States who have and have not established legal ties between partners. This framework is complemented by a discussion of key rulings that define what is legally possible as well as the introduction of 'legal consciousness,' a construct for examining how perceptions of legal authority drive engagement with the legal system. …
Queering “the Family”
Second Generation” Voices
To Be Jewish and Lesbian
Research is limited when it comes to religion and the lives of sexual minority individuals, including Jewish lesbians. Symbolic interactionism and social exchange theory guided the development of this qualitative study, for which 10 Jewish lesbian/bisexual women were interviewed to explore the role that religion played in their lives as adults and partners. Findings indicate that inclusive climates aided in participants’ successful integration of…
Sexual socialization in lesbian-parent families
Few studies have examined the sexual socialization of children within lesbian-parent families, despite evidence that these children may experience benefits in this regard. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 partnered, lesbian mothers to explore what and how participants taught their children about sexuality-related issues. Themes related to what participants taught their children about these topics included diverse notions of sexual or…
From Ball Culture to the Gay Rodeo
Marriage (In)equality
The debate over whether same-sex couples should be allowed to enter into civil marriages continues in the United States. Forty-nine adolescents and emerging adults (ages 14-29) with lesbian, gay, and bisexual parents were interviewed for the current exploratory study, which examined how individuals perceived themselves and their families as being affected by marriage (in)equality, as well as the factors that shaped their perspectives. More than t…
Coping With Sexual Stigma
Little is known about how youth with LGB (lesbian, gay, and bisexual) parents experience various forms of sexual stigma (i.e., homophobia and heterosexism). Previous studies have focused primarily on frequency of teasing and harassment; therefore, much less is known about how indirect and institutional types of sexual stigma play out in the lives of these youth. In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 emerging adults with lesbian …
Child, Family, and Community Transformations
The present study represents findings from interviews with five mothers, each of whom had a transgender child. All of the transgender children were natal/biological males between the ages of 8 and 11 years old and had socially transitioned to living as girls. Ehrensaft's (2012) notion of the “true gender self” was integrated with an ecological perspective to examine multiple interacting contexts, including family, neighborhood, and school, in whi…
Ambiguous Loss as a Framework for Interpreting Gender Transitions in Families
In this article, we use an ambiguous loss framework to guide a process for decentering cisnormativity (the assumption that biological sex and gender are aligned) within families, specifically for those experiencing the gender identity transitions of family members. Individual family members have varied experiences with regard to gender transition and may or may not experience ambiguous loss depending on their position within the family system. Tr…
Transfamily Theory
The presence of a trans* family member can challenge existing theoretical notions about the development of gender in families. Emerging knowledge about trans* identities consolidates around 5 primary challenges to existing theoretical notions of gender: (a) non‐dimorphic sex, (b) nonbinary gender, (c) the biological and social construction of gender, (d) gender identity development, and (e) family meaning making about transgender identity. These …
Trans Families
Transgender graduate students’ experiences in higher education
Little research has explored the experiences of transgender or gender-nonconforming (TGNC) students in higher education. Further, only 1 study has included the perspectives of TGNC graduate students (McKinney, 2005), and the experiences of students who identify with nonbinary gender identities (e.g., genderqueer, agender) are scarce in the literature (Nicolazzo, 2016a, 2016b). This study aims to address these gaps. Ninety-one graduate students co…
Navigating identity development and community belonging when “there are only two boxes to check”
Within the small research literature on transgender college students, little work has focused on nonbinary trans students. Findings from focus groups with seven nonbinary trans students revealed that participants explored and found support for their nonbinary trans identities online and offline, valuing in particular the support of other nonbinary people and the opportunities afforded in a college setting. Participants often felt compelled to be …
Perspectives of Mothers of Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
This study represents findings from interviews at two time points with three mothers of transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) children (ages 8 to 12 years at T1) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Of interest was the mothers' experiences of raising a TGNC child with ASD, and whether/how the children's autism played a role in their understandings of their children's gender identities and expressions. The mothers' fear of a transphobic/cisn…
Health Care Experiences of Transgender Binary and Nonbinary University Students
An increasing number of young adults identify with nonbinary gender identities. Yet health providers and therapists often lack understanding of such identities. In this mixed-methods study of 506 transgender undergraduate and graduate students, most of whom (75%) had nonbinary gender identities, we aimed to understand participants’ mental health and health care experiences, and factors related to misgendering and less affirming treatment by provi…
Grandmothers raising their transgender grandchildren
This exploratory study builds upon previous research relating to grandparents of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth by investigating the experiences of 2 affirming grandmothers raising their transgender granddaughters (age 6 years at T1). Participants reported experiences similar to those reported by affirming parents of TGD children, such as facing resistance from their communities when affirming the children’s gender identities. Similar…
Is American Family Law Queer Enough for Contemporary Families
Custody cases involving transgender and gender‐expansive youth
There is an increasing number of high‐conflict custody cases involving transgender and gender expansive (TGE) youth within family courts. The current sociopolitical climate, giving rise to an unprecedented amount of anti‐transgender legislation, adds further complexity to decision‐making and creates a contentious and unpredictable climate for TGE youth and affirming parents in family court. Although researchers in health, child development, and w…
Viewing the Family Court Experiences of Affirming Parents and Their Transgender and Gender Diverse Children Through the Lens of Intersectionality
An intersectionality framework was utilized to investigate how sexism, racism, classism, and anti‐transgender bias played a role in one custody case involving a transgender child. This case study—the story of a Black Latina affirming mother, who underwent a seven‐year custody battle with the white father of their biracial transgender daughter—provided an opportunity to consider ways that intersecting biases can work to oppress affirming parents a…
LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy (19 works) · Psychology (19 works) · Reproductive Health and Technologies (14 works) · Social Psychology (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Developmental psychology (11 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Transgender (10 works) · Gender Studies (9 works) · Exploratory research (6 works)