2023 - 2026

Principal Investigator: Jennifer M. Grossman, Ph.D.

Project Staff: Michelle Sullivan, Ph.D., with Project Consulting Methodologist Hillary Schaefer, Ph.D.

Project Collaborators: Belinda Hernandez, Ph.D., and Christine Markham, Ph.D., at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Jeffery Johnson, Ph.D., at National Partnership for Community Leadership, and Cody Ragonese, M.S., at Equimundo

Funded by: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, National Institutes of Health


Through this project, Grossman and her colleagues developed the Connected Dads, Healthy Teens program, a 4-week online intervention to promote teens’ health and support fathers’ positive communication with their teens about sex and relationships. Findings from their pilot assessment showed that fathers and teens who participated in the Connected Dads, Healthy Teens program showed statistically significant increases in sexual health knowledge, and frequency and comfort with father-teen communication from before to after the program. Fathers also showed increased self-efficacy for father-teen communication and teens showed increased self-efficacy for communication with a partner. Interviews with fathers who joined the program found that they highly valued the program’s skill-building components and tips for how to talk with their teens about challenging topics and noticed new closeness with their teens after doing the program. Grossman and her colleagues are currently working to publish their findings and to expand the application of their program to different populations of fathers and teens.

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Tags:
  • Projects
  • Jennifer M. Grossman
  • Amanda Richer
  • Family, Sexuality, and Communication Research Initiative

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