About

Allen Mallory is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Sciences at The Ohio State University. His professional focus includes adolescent to young adult development, family demography, health and mortality, and sexual and reproductive health. He is affiliated with the Institute for Population Research, where he contributes to research and academic activities related to population studies. His contact information includes an office at 060 Townshend Hall, Ohio State University, and his email is mallory.102@osu.edu. His work emphasizes understanding demographic trends and health outcomes within populations, supporting research initiatives and academic programs in these areas.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Medicine
• Gender studies
• Developmental psychology
• Clinical psychology
• Sociology
• Demography
• Gerontology
• Environmental health
• Psychotherapist
• Psychiatry
• Geography

Selected publications

• Balancing and Exploring the Personal, Professional, and Political: Finding Space and Place in the Academy Through Reflexive and Intersecting Masculinities

  Journal of Family Theory & Review · 2026-03-29 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  ABSTRACT Using critical intersectional feminist theorizing, I engage in praxis around reflexive masculinities. I discuss my positionality through my personal lived experiences, professional career in academia, and my political engagement. I start by discussing my positionality related to my race, gender, sexual orientation, and family background, and then turn to how the intersections of privilege and disadvantage played a role in my professional development, research, and politics. Through my reflection, I aim to address sources of knowledge that have been marginalized or made invisible in standard family theorizing regarding masculinity, specifically around queer and Black identities and couples' relationship dynamics.

  PublisherDOI

• Youth experiencing homelessness at risk for suicide: psychosocial risk factors and service use patterns

  BMC Public Health · 2025-02-04

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Young adults experiencing homelessness often suffer from adverse mental health outcomes and suicide is a leading cause of death. The objective of this study is to examine service use and psychosocial risk factors for suicide, in relation to suicide risk assessment, to inform strategies for engaging youth in suicide prevention services. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis of youth enrolled in a supportive housing randomized clinical trial. We categorized suicide risk into three groups (low-, moderate-, and high-risk) based on suicidal ideation and past-year suicide attempt. The service use patterns across these groups are described, as well as other psychosocial risk factors (psychiatric comorbidity, depressive symptoms, substance use, and sleep impairment). RESULTS: Among 193 enrolled youth, 126 (65.3%), 32 (16.6%), and 35 (18.1%) were categorized as low-risk, moderate-risk, and high-risk for suicide, respectively. A high proportion of youth reported ever having been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder (57.5%) and cannabis was the most heavily used substance. However, only a minority of youth received medical care or mental health services in the past 3 months, 40% and 34%, respectively. Even fewer youth received mental/emotional health services in the past 3 months (15%), though use was highest among the high-risk group (34%). CONCLUSION: Understanding the needs of youth experiencing homelessness who are at risk for suicide is critical to developing interventions to alleviate their risk for suicide. Given that the use of medical and mental health care is low among this population, more active outreach strategies may be warranted to deliver prevention interventions.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Differences in sexual behaviors between sexual minority and heterosexual female youth with a substance use disorder who are experiencing homelessness

  Children and Youth Services Review · 2025-02-20 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  • Female sexual minority youth (SMY) enaged in more risky sexual behaviors than their heterosexual peers. • With older age female SMY utilized condoms more compared to their heterosexual peers. • Although there were some differences in sexual risk and protective behaviors between female SMY and their peers, there were more similarities. • Provides working with female youth experiencing homelessness should provide sexual health resources regardless of sexual orientation. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in risky and protective sexual behaviors between sexual minority (SM) and heterosexual female youth with a substance use disorder (SUD) who are experiencing homelessness (YEH). This study uses baseline data from four randomized clinical trials of substance use interventions for YEH between the ages of 12–24 with a substance use disorder (N = 469). Meta-analytic methods were used to aggregate data across studies to estimate differences in sexual risk and protective behaviors. Female SM-YEH had a younger age at first sex, greater risk of lifetime casual sex, were less likely to use contraception during their first sexual encounter, and greater risk of having a STI than heterosexual YEH. Among female SM-YEH, older age was associated with greater utilization of condoms due to concerns about HIV and using condoms the last time they had sex compared to their heterosexual peers. Female SM and heterosexual YEH with a SUD had many similarities in sexual risk and protective behaviors. However, differences between female SM and heterosexual YEH were mixed regarding who was at greater risk, suggesting their unique context may play a role in understanding engagement in risky and protective sexual behavior in addition to sexual orientation.

  PublisherDOI

• Differences in Mental Health Between Female Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Youth with a Substance Use Disorder Who Are Experiencing Homelessness

  LGBT Health · 2024-10-04 · 2 citations

  review1st authorCorresponding

  Female SM-YEH had elevated levels of depression and suicidality compared to their heterosexual peers. The findings of this study align with research on mental health disparities between SM and heterosexual youth generally, which underscores the unique struggles and risks associated with identifying as a female SM-YEH with a SUD.

  PublisherDOI

• Sexual Identity Continuity and Change in a U.S. National Probability Sample of Sexual Minority Adults: Associations With Mental Health and Problematic Substance Use

  American Journal of Psychiatry · 2024-08-01 · 3 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVE: Sexual minority disparities in behavioral health (e.g., mental health and substance use) are well-established. However, sexual identity is dynamic, and changes are common across the life course (e.g., identifying with a monosexual [lesbian or gay] label and later with a plurisexual [queer, pansexual, etc.] label). This study assessed whether behavioral health risks coincide with sexual identity change among sexual minority people. METHODS: Associations in a 3-year U.S. national probability sample of sexual minority adults were assessed between sexual minority identity change (consistently monosexual [N=400; 44.3% weighted], consistently plurisexual [N=239; 46.7% weighted], monosexual to plurisexual [N=19; 4.2% weighted], and plurisexual to monosexual [N=25; 4.8% weighted]) and five behavioral health indicators (psychological distress, social well-being, number of poor mental health days in the past month, problematic alcohol use, and problematic use of other drugs), controlling for demographic characteristics and baseline behavioral health. RESULTS: =1.99], SE=0.23). Among male participants, plurisexual-to-monosexual identity change (vs. consistently plurisexual identity) was associated with lower social well-being (B=-0.56, SE=0.25), and identity change (regardless of type) was generally associated with increased problematic use of alcohol and other drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual identity change is an important consideration for sexual minority behavioral health research, with changes (vs. consistency) in identity being an important risk factor for compromised behavioral health. Prevention and treatment interventions may need to tailor messaging to sexual minority men and women differently.

  PublisherDOI

• The consequences of intimacy, oppression, and activism on gendered power relations in a high school<scp>LGBTQ</scp>+‐themed literature class

  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy · 2024-07-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract School‐based supports, such as LGBTQ+‐themed curriculum, invite opportunities for challenging oppression with respect to gender and its intersections with other identities such as sexuality and race. However, more understanding is needed regarding how literacy educators might leverage these opportunities. This article describes how intimacy, oppressive actions, and activism functioned in relation to one another in an LGBTQ+‐themed literature course at a grassroots public charter high school for the arts in a mid‐sized Midwestern city. The larger study, from which this article is derived, is a hybrid of ethnography and practitioner inquiry. Therefore, this study draws on field notes, transcribed video recordings of class, transcribed audio recordings of interviews, and student assignments related to a young adult novel. Our analysis of gendered power relations suggests that oppression can hinder intimacy, intimacy can hinder activism, but intimacy can also foster activism. With the goal of leveraging opportunities to challenge gendered oppression, we argue that students and teachers must navigate intimacy and intersecting structures of oppression to enact activism.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• “We’re Just Talking”: Constructing a Recent Trend in Emerging Adult Romantic Relationship Development

  Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy · 2024-09-23 · 6 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Patterns of service needs and use by subgroups of youth experiencing homelessness

  Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless · 2024-04-22 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: Service use predicts exit from homelessness and improvements in physical and mental health among youth experiencing homelessness (YEH). However, service use among YEH remains low. This study uniquely examined youths' reported needs and patterns of service use during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Baseline data were examined from a large opioid prevention project conducted in a midwestern, service-rich metropolitan area. YEH (n = 240), between the ages of 18-24 years, were recruited from a drop-in center and other non-service locations. Youth completed self-report questionnaires about their service needs and utilization over the prior three months. Results: The most common services YEH needed were housing (n = 233, 97.5%), drop-in center (n = 194, 81.2%), identification and birth certificates (n = 118, 49.6%), medical care (n=110, 46.0%), dental care (n = 106, 44.4%), employment counseling (n = 97, 40.6%) and mental health and emotional life counseling (n = 91, 38.1%). Most service needs were unfulfilled. Conclusions: Youth showed extreme service need overall, but other than drop-in centers, the youth reported limited use of most services. The limited use of needed services underscores the importance of future efforts toward improving service use for those in need.

  PublisherDOI

• Sexual Identity Continuity and Change in a U.S. National Probability Sample of Sexual Minority Adults: Associations With Mental Health and Problematic Substance Use

  Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) · 2024-10-30

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Sexual minority disparities in behavioral health (e.g., mental health and substance use) are well-established. However, sexual identity is dynamic, and changes are common across the life course (e.g., identifying with a monosexual [lesbian or gay] label and later with a plurisexual [queer, pansexual, etc.] label). This study assessed whether behavioral health risks coincide with sexual identity change among sexual minority people. METHODS: Associations in a 3-year U.S. national probability sample of sexual minority adults were assessed between sexual minority identity change (consistently monosexual [N=400; 44.3% weighted], consistently plurisexual [N=239; 46.7% weighted], monosexual to plurisexual [N=19; 4.2% weighted], and plurisexual to monosexual [N=25; 4.8% weighted]) and five behavioral health indicators (psychological distress, social well-being, number of poor mental health days in the past month, problematic alcohol use, and problematic use of other drugs), controlling for demographic characteristics and baseline behavioral health. RESULTS: Among female participants, monosexual-to-plurisexual identity change (vs. consistently monosexual identity) was associated with greater psychological distress (B=3.41, SE=1.13), lower social well-being (B=-0.61, SE=0.25), and more days of poor mental health in the past month (B=0.69 [Bexp=1.99], SE=0.23). Among male participants, plurisexual-to-monosexual identity change (vs. consistently plurisexual identity) was associated with lower social well-being (B=-0.56, SE=0.25), and identity change (regardless of type) was generally associated with increased problematic use of alcohol and other drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Sexual identity change is an important consideration for sexual minority behavioral health research, with changes (vs. consistency) in identity being an important risk factor for compromised behavioral health. Prevention and treatment interventions may need to tailor messaging to sexual minority men and women differently.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Review for "Opportunities to Address Health Disparities in Suicidality for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Public Systems"

  2024-08-15

  peer-review1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• The influence of intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination for the mental health of LGB youth and adults

  NIH · $83k · 2018–2021

Frequent coauthors

• Stephen T. Russell

  25 shared

• Meg D. Bishop

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  24 shared

• Ankur Srivastava

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  17 shared

• Evan A. Krueger

  17 shared

• Laura J. Chavez

  Nationwide Children's Hospital

  10 shared

• Kelly J. Kelleher

  9 shared

• Natasha Slesnick

  The Ohio State University

  9 shared

• Tansel Yilmazer

  The Ohio State University

  8 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Human Development and Family Sciences

  University of Texas at Austin

  2020