Faculty Directory

Summary of Expertise

Professor Hammack is an expert on sexual and gender diversity, with particular interest in the following areas:

·       Newer or more visible sexual and gender identities in the 21st century, including nonbinary gender, pansexuality, ace spectrum identities, polyamory, sexual subcultures and identities, sapiosexuality, ecosexuality

·       Experiences of stigma among those expressing intimate diversity, including those who practice consensual nonmonogamies, kink/BDSM, and those who form queer chosen families

·       Queer men’s health and identity development in the 21st century, with a focus on queer masculinities, sexual health and subcultures, and stigma and mental health

·       The use of psychedelic medicine among those diverse in gender or sexuality to process trauma and promote health and wellbeing

·       Paradigm, theory, and method in the social sciences, with a particular interest in narrative theory and methods, social justice, cultural psychology, and life course theory

Embedded in all of Professor Hammack’s current work is an interest in the following:

·       Generational and intersectional patterns of experience

·       Social technology mediation (i.e., the role of social media in experience and development)

·       Legal, institutional, and social policies regarding sexual and gender diversity

·       Accessibility and practical application of knowledge produced

Professor Hammack is currently accepting new graduate students to join the Sexual and Gender Diversity Laboratory whose interests align with any of the items outlined above. He also works closely with undergraduates interested in conducting independent senior theses on any of these topics.

Research Interests

• Sexual & gender diversity, including nonbinary gender and plurisexual (e.g., bisexual, pansexual, queer) identities, ace spectrum identities, sexual subcultures and identities, sapiosexuality, ecosexuality
• Intimate diversity, including polyamory and other consensual nonmonogamies, kink/BDSM, and chosen families
• Queer men's health and identity development, with a focus on queer masculinities, sexual health and subcultures, and stigma and mental health
• Psychedelic medicine for those diverse in gender or sexuality
• Paradigm, theory & method in the social sciences

Biography, Education and Training

PhD, University of Chicago
MA, Loyola University, Chicago
AB, Georgetown University

Honors, Awards and Grants

President-Elect, Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology

Fellow, American Psychological Association, Divisions 5, 9, & 44

Fellowship, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University (2017-2018)

R01 Research Grant, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (2014-2019)

William T. Grant Foundation Scholar Award (2013-2018)

Erik Erikson Early Career Award, International Society of Political Psychology (2013)

Louise Kidder Early Career Award, American Psychological Association, Division 9 (SPSSI) (2011)

Selected Publications

Hammack, P. L., & Wignall, L. (2023). Sexual and gender diversity in the twenty-first century. Current Opinion in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101616 

Copulsky, D., & Hammack, P. L. (2023). Asexuality, graysexuality, and demisexuality: Distinctions in desire, behavior, and identity. Journal of Sex Research, 60(2), 221-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.2012113 

Hughes, S. D., & Hammack, P. L. (2022). Narratives of the origins of kinky sexual desire held by users of a kink-oriented social networking website. Journal of Sex Research, 59(3), 360-371. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2020.1840495 

Hammack, P. L., Pletta, D. P., Hughes, S. D., Atwood, J. M., Cohen, E. M., & Clark, R. C. (2022). Community support for sexual and gender diversity, minority stress, and mental health: A mixed-methods study of adolescents with minoritized sexual and gender identities. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000591 

Hammack, P. L., Hughes, S. D., Atwood, J. M., Cohen, E. M., & Clark, R. C. (2022). Gender and sexual identity in adolescence: A mixed-methods study of labeling in diverse community settings. Journal of Adolescent Research, 37(2), 167-220. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F07435584211000315 

Hammack, P. L., Grecco, B., Wilson, B. D. M., & Meyer, I. H. (2022). “White, tall, top, masculine, muscular”: Narratives of intracommunity stigma in young sexual minority men’s experience on mobile apps. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 51, 2413-2428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02144-z 

Josselson, R., & Hammack, P. L. (2021). Essentials of narrative analysis. American Psychological Association Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000246-000 

Frost, D. M., Hammack, P.L. Wilson, B.D.M., Russell, S.T., Lightfoot, M., & Meyer, I.H. (2020). The qualitative interview in psychology and the study of social change: Sexual identity development, minority stress, and health in the Generations Study. Qualitative Psychology, 7(3), 245-266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/qup0000148

Barsigian, L. L., Hammack, P. L., Morrow, Q. J., Wilson, B. D. M., & Russell, S. T. (2020). Narratives of gender, sexuality, and community in three generations of genderqueer sexual minorities. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 7(3), 276-292. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000384  

Teaching Interests

Sexual Identity & Society

Sexual & Gender Diversity

Intimate Diversity

Narrative Identity

Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology