Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies

College of Humanities and Sciences

Current StudentsGive

B. Ethan Coston, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Principal Investigator - Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "Equitable Ideas"

Curriculum vitae

Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology, Stony Brook University, 2014
  • Advanced Graduate Certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, 2012
  • M.A. Sociology, Stony Brook University, 2011 B.A., Communication Studies and English, Albion College, 2008

Research Interests

As a sociologist and health rhetorician by training—with collaborative partnerships in health psychology, public health, medicine, nursing, rehabilitation sciences, social work, genetics and genomics, public policy, communication studies, and across the humanities—Ethan has more than 15 years’ experience in the social and behavioral sciences, health policy, and public health advocacy. Across a number of interrelated areas, his portfolio of work has specifically focused on: 1) population health equity, primarily looking at the impact of interpersonal violence on, and mitigation of, post-traumatic outcomes (such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, suicidality, (poly)substance use, reproductive coercion, and risky/rough sex); and 2) critical implementation and translational science that assesses and evaluates biopsychosocial well-being interventions and associated policy efforts.

Select Publications

For a full list of citations, visit: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=C8Z2-wMAAAAJ&hl=en

*Indicates post-doctoral fellow co-author.
**Indicates graduate student co-author.
***Indicates undergraduate student co-author.

  • Kyle Liam Mason,* Jelaina R. Shipman,** B. Ethan Coston, and Kristina B. Hood. 2024. “A Harmful Scene: Vicarious Exposure to Racism and Negative Affect Among Undergraduate Students in the Context of the George Floyd Tragedy.” Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, & Trauma. Online First. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2024.2346570
  • Eric G. Benotsch, Catherine S.J. Wall,** Kyle Liam Mason,** Shelby A. Smout,** B. Ethan Coston, Mary A. Carrico,*** Kathleen A. O’Neill,*** Mary K. Stanford,** Jayda Tinsley,*** Dongmei Yan, and An Pham. 2023. Use of substances to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic among transgender and gender diverse adults. The American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse, 49(1): 129-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2023.2165939
  • Suzan M. Walters,* B. Ethan Coston, Alan Neaigus, Alexis V. Rivera, Lila Starbuck, Valentina Ramirez, Kathleen H. Reilly, & Sarah L. Braunstein. “The Role of Sexual Identity and Syringe Exchange Programs in Awareness of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) among Male Persons Who Inject Drugs.” 2020. International Journal of Drug Policy, 77, 102671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102671
  • Natasha Dickerson-Amaya** and B. Ethan Coston. 2019. “Invisibility is Not Invincibility: The Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Gay, Bisexual, and Straight Men's Mental Health.” American Journal of Men’s Health, 13(3): 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988319849734
  • B. Ethan Coston. 2017. “Power and Inequality: Intimate Partner Violence Against Bisexual and Non-Monosexual Women in the United States.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(1-2): 381-405. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517726415

Affiliations

  • Associate Editor, American Journal of Public Health
  • Editorial Board, Journal of Health & Social Behavior
  • Editorial Board, Spark: Elevating Scholarship on Social Issues
  • Community Health Assessment and Improvement Planning Team, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts and The Virginia Department of Health

Courses

  • GSWS 301: Feminist Theory
  • GSWS 358: Sex and Power
  • GSWS 393: Feminist Research and Methods of Inquiry
  • GSWS 409: LGBTQ Health and Wellness
  • GSWS 602: Feminist Research Epistemology and Methods

Awards

  • 2020 Burnside Watstein LGBTQIA Award. Equality VCU, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • 2020 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Emerging Faculty Leaders Award (finalist)
  • 2019 Excellence in Access, Course Content, and Inclusion Champion of Accessibility (Faculty). Transforming Accessibility Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University.
  • 2014 Madeline Fusco Fellowship Award ($5000). Stony Brook University Graduate School.
  • 2013 Martin P. Levine Memorial Dissertation Fellowship Award ($3000). American Sociological Association, Sexualities Section.

Other