Mimi Arbeit, PhD

Specialty Areas

Adolescent development, sexuality development, antifascism, social justice

I am an applied developmental psychologist, sexuality educator, and community organizer. I am Principal Investigator of the Youth Equity & Sexuality Lab, focused on promoting adolescent development and fighting fascism, white supremacy, and cis-hetero-patriarchy. Current projects investigate how sexual violence prevention practices can address threats posed by male supremacists, and how adults can interrupt far-right and fascist attempts to recruit youth into their ranks. I work to integrate antifascism with youth development theory and practice. I pursue these academic goals through also investing in mutually supportive bidirectional relationships with youth and activists directly confronting systems of oppression and building collective power towards a world where all will thrive.

Visit the Youth Equity & Sexuality Lab webpage.

Pronouns: they, them, theirs.

Publications

Arbeit, M. R., Negrete, A., Berger, N. P., Dufault, A. E., Onuoha, A. C., & Burnham, S. L. F. (2024). Antifascist praxis in developmental science: Possibilities for collective resistance to fascism. Child Development Perspectives. 

Burnham, S. L. F. & Arbeit, M. R. (2023). Social media literacy to confront far-right content: Saying “no” to neutrality. Human Development, 67(3), 117-134. 

Onuoha, A. C., Arbeit, M. R., & Leath, S. (2023). Far-right misogynoir: A critical thematic analysis of Black college women's experiences with white male supremacist influences. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 47(2), 180-196. 

Arbeit, M. R., Onuoha, A. C., Burnham, S. L. F., Wanjuki, W., Kozak, K., & de Four, D. (2022). From misogynist incels to “one of the shooters”: What can help college sexual violence prevention confront male supremacism? Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education, 15(4), 309-331. 

Burnham, S. L. F., Arbeit, M. R., & Hilliard, L. J. (2022). The subtle spread of hateful memes: Examining engagement intentions among parents of adolescents. Social Media + Society, 8(2), 1-14. 

Arbeit, M., Johnson, H. E., Grabowska, A. A., Mauer, V. M., Deutsch, N. L. (2021). Leveraging relational metaphors: An analysis of non-parental adult roles in response to youth needs. Youth & Society, 53(1), 104-130. 

Arbeit, M. R., Burnham, S. L. F., de Four, D., & Cronk, H. (2020). Youth practitioners can counter fascism: What we know and what we need. Journal of Youth Development, 15(5), 37-67. 

Arbeit, M. R. (2018). “They’re hoping we can stop it”: Student leadership in sexual violence intervention and response at West Point. Journal of Community Psychology, 46(5), 598–615. 

Arbeit, M. R. (2017).  “It could affect you as a person, character-wise”: Promoting character development and preventing sexual violence at West Point. Journal of College and Character, 18(4). 279-295. 

Arbeit, M. R. (2017). “Make sure you’re not getting yourself in trouble:” Building sexual relationships and preventing sexual violence at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The Journal of Sex Research, 54(8), 949-961. 

Arbeit, M. R., Hershberg, R. M., Johnson, S. K., Lerner, J. V., & Lerner, R. M. (2017). “I mean, we’re guys”: Constructing gender at an all-male trade school. Journal of Adolescent Research, 32(2), 227-258. 

Arbeit, M. R., Fisher, C. B., Macapagal, K., & Mustanski, B. (2016). Bisexual invisibility and the sexual health needs of adolescent girls. LGBT Health, 3(5), 1-8. 

Arbeit, M. R., Hershberg, R. M., Rubin, R. O., DeSouza, L. S., & Lerner, J. V. (2016). “I’m hoping that I can have better relationships”: Exploring interpersonal connection for young men. Qualitative Psychology, 3(1), 79-97. 

Arbeit, M. R., Baldi, E. A., Rubin, R. O., Harris, E. M., & Lerner, J. V. (2015). Promoting adolescent sexual health in youth programming: Implications of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. In E. P. Bowers, G. J. Geldhof, S. K. Johnson, L. J. Hilliard, R. M. Hershberg, J. V. Lerner, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Promoting Positive Youth Development: Lessons from the 4-H Study. (pp. 229-248). New York, NY: Springer. 

Arbeit, M. R. (2014). What does healthy sex look like among youth? Towards a skills-based model for promoting adolescent sexuality development. Human Development, 57(5), 259-286. (Published with commentaries by Lisa Diamond and David Moshman.)