Mimi Arbeit

Mimi Arbeit is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Suffolk University, identifying with they/them pronouns. As an applied developmental psychologist, sexuality educator, and community organizer, they serve as Principal Investigator of the Youth Equity & Sexuality Lab, which focuses on promoting adolescent development while combating fascism, white supremacy, and cis-hetero-patriarchy through antifascist praxis integrated with youth development theory.

Education:

• PhD in Child Study and Human Development, Tufts University
• MA in Child Development, Tufts University
• BA in Psychology and Human Rights, Columbia University
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Youth-Nex, University of Virginia School of Education

Dr. Arbeit's research centers on adolescent development, sexuality development, and antifascism, with specific focus on sexual violence prevention against male supremacists and interrupting far-right recruitment of youth. Their work emphasizes bidirectional relationships with youth activists to build collective power against systems of oppression, grounded in social justice frameworks that confront white supremacy and cis-hetero-patriarchy through community organizing and developmental science.

Analysis of their 15 publications (2014-2024) reveals evolution from foundational work on adolescent sexuality models and military academy interventions toward urgent contemporary research on far-right recruitment, misogynoir, and social media literacy. Key trends include intersectional analysis of race/gender in political extremism, male supremacist threats to sexual violence prevention, and antifascist applications of developmental psychology.

Scientific Awards:

• No scientific awards mentioned in source material

As lab director, Dr. Arbeit leads research on antifascist youth development while mentoring through courses like Youth Resisting Oppression and independent studies. Their grant-funded work at the Youth Equity & Sexuality Lab develops strategies to counter fascist recruitment and male supremacism in sexual violence prevention contexts, emphasizing community-academic partnerships.

The Youth Equity & Sexuality Lab serves as the operational hub for Dr. Arbeit's research, facilitating collaborations with youth activists and community organizations to develop practical antifascist interventions while producing scholarly work that bridges developmental science with movement organizing against systems of oppression.