Closeup of Jane Leer

Jane Leer, Ph.D.

Pronouns: she, her

Assistant Professor of Psychology

College of Sciences
Department of Psychology

San Diego

Phone
619-594-7076
Office Hours

By Appointment

Location
ARPC 16
Suite 222
6475 Alvarado Road
San Diego, CA 92182
Mail Code
[1234]
Fax
[619-594-####]
Accounts

Areas of Expertise

Applied Psychology, Adolescent Development, Neighborhood Effects, Housing and Social Policy, Mental Health, Educational Attainment and Achievement, Social Cognitive Development, Mixed-Methods Research

Student Opportunities

  • Accepting M.A. students in Fall 2025.

Bio

Jane Leer is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at San Diego State University. Her research aims to understand and mitigate inequities in youth mental health and education outcomes by focusing on context (e.g., contexts of race and class inequities in schools and neighborhoods, social policies of housing assistance and family support services). Current lines of research include:

(1) How do neighborhood, school, and family contexts shape developmental processes such as youth mental health, academic engagement, and social cognition (e.g., beliefs about inequality, aspirations and expectations for social mobility)?

(2) How can social policies that aim to alter these contexts more equitably serve diverse populations and mitigate poverty and racism-related inequities?

Details

Courses
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Education
  1. Postdoctoral fellowship, Boston College
  2. Ph.D., Duke University
  3. M.S., Stanford University
  4. B.A., University of California, Berkeley
Publications
  1. Leer, J., Smith, I. Z., Hill, Z., & Gennetian, L. A. (2025). Social contexts and black families’ engagement in early childhood programs. PloS one, 20(1), e0316680.
  2. Leer, Jane, Rick H. Hoyle, and Candice L. Odgers. “Direct and indirect pathways linking gentrification to adolescent reading and math achievement via educational aspirations and psychological distress.” Developmental Psychology (2024).
  3. Leer, J., Hoyle, R. & Odgers, C. Direct and Indirect Pathways Linking Gentrification to Adolescent Reading and Math Achievement via Educational Aspirations and Psychological Distress (forthcoming at Developmental Psychology).
  4. Leer, J., Gaither, S., & Gassman-Pines, A. (2024). It’s Not What You Say It’s What You Do: School Diversity Ideologies and Adolescent Mental Health and Academic Engagement. Journal of Research on Adolescence, Special Issue: Advancing Studies of Adolescent Development from Bench Science to Preventive Interventions and Policy Through Interdisciplinary Research.
  5. Straka, B. C., Albuja, A., Leer, J., Brauher, K., & Gaither, S. E. (2024). The rich get richer? Children’s reasoning about socioeconomic status predicts inclusion and resource bias. Developmental Psychology, 60(3), 505–521. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001655
  6. Leer, J., Lopez Boo, F., & *Norman, S. (2023). Supporting Child & Family Resilience in the Face of Political Violence: Evidence from a Home Visit Parenting Program. Child Development. Special Issue: Registered Reports. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13991
  7. Alemann, C., Daga, G., Leer, J., & Lopez Boo, F. (2022). Violencia Intima de Pareja y Desarrollo Infantil Temprano (Intimate Partner Violence and Early Childhood Development). PanAmerican Journal of Public Health. 8(46):e195. doi: 10.26633/RPSP.2022.195
  8. Gassman-Pines, A., Ananat, E.O., Fitz-Henley, II, J. & Leer, J. (2022). Effects of Daily School and Care Disruptions on Child Behavior Problems. Developmental Psychology. 58(8), 1512–1527. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001373
  9. Leer, J., Gassman-Pines, A., Dje Ble, E., Kainessie, J., Kennedy, C, Press, S., & Schubert, H. (2022). Young Adolescents' Endorsement of Restrictive Gender Norms: Evidence from a Community-Based Intervention in Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone. Journal of Early Adolescence. 42(4), 453–481. https://doi.org/10.1177/02724316211036742
  10. Leer, J., Gaither, S., & Gassman-Pines, A. (2021). Behavioral Science Interventions: Integrating the Decision Task, Context, and Individual Differences to Inform Policy. Translational Issues in Psychological Science. Special Issue: Psychological Science and Public Policy. 7(1), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1037/tps0000243
  11. Leer, J. & Lopez Boo, F. (2018). Assessing the Quality of Home Visit Parenting Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. Early Child Development and Care. 89(13), 2183-2196, doi: 10.1080/03004430.2018.1443922
  12. Dowd, A.J., Friedlander, E., Jonason, C., Leer, J., Sorensen, L.Z., Guajardo, J., D'Sa, N., Pava, C., & Pisani, L. (2017). Lifewide Learning for Early Reading Development. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development. (155):31- 49. doi: 10.1002/cad.20193
  13. Leer, J. (2016). After the Big Bang: Estimating the effects of decentralization on educational outcomes in Indonesia through a difference-in-differences analysis. International Journal of Educational Development. 49:80–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.02.005
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