Dr. Pistella has research interests in three areas of developmental psychology:

1) Parenting, family functioning, and children's happiness.

2) Gender prejudice and homophobia in sports-related contexts. The research explores the levels of homophobia and discrimination in different types of sports, deepening issues as the negative attitudes towards coming out in sports-related contexts.

3) Attitudes towards same-sex parenting, the coming-out and the developmental of a positive LGB identity in sexual minority people; The research investigates the attitudes towards the parenting competencies among parents who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual people, but also the psychological well-being of the children who grow in families with parents who self-identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual individuals. The studies deepen the minority stress, coming-out reactions, and risk factors in early adolescence and adolescence.