About
Kimberly Belmonte, Ph.D., is a social psychologist whose training and research have employed critical and feminist research methods, with a particular lens of social justice.
Belmonte’s research has examined how adolescents and emerging adults experience identity, sexuality, gender, safety and well-being within the context of larger social and cultural contexts. She has deployed a range of methods (e.g., qualitative, mixed methods, archival) in her work, including participatory and community engaged research designs.
Belmonte is particularly interested in adolescent girls’ experience of girlhood. Her doctoral dissertation examined how confidence is defined and assessed in psychology and youth development and how adolescent girls experience self-confidence within the context of an empowerment organization.
Belmonte has experience in non-profit research and leadership. She previously worked for Girl Scouts of the USA, leading The Girl Scout Research Institute, a team of applied researchers dedicated to program evaluation and research on girls’ leadership and well-being. She also previously taught in the City University of New York and State University of New York school systems, including courses in Developmental Psychology, Experimental/Research Methods, and Psychology of Gender/Women.
Professor Belmonte is committed to excellence in teaching and delighted to be a part of the University of Tulsa community.
Education
- Ph.D., Critical Social/Personality Psychology, CUNY
Dissertation: Complicating Confidence: A Critical Analysis of Confidence in a Girls’ Empowerment Organization
Research interests and areas of expertise
- Girlhood
- (Self) confidence
- Feminist psychology
- Qualitative research
- Participatory research methods
- Adolescence
- Emerging adulthood
- Sexual Identity development
- Social Justice
- Well-being