Jennifer M. Grossman, Ph.D.

Research Scientist

Jennifer M. Grossman is a Research Scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW), focusing on adolescent development, racial and ethnic identity, and sexual health and risk-taking, with an emphasis on family communication about sex and relationships. She is the co-Principal Investigator (PI) on a grant to evaluate Planned Parenthood’s comprehensive middle school sex education program, which aims to promote healthy sexual development and reduce sexual risk-taking. She recently received a grant from NICHD, titled "Communication about sex in the nuclear family and beyond: Implications for health.” This project investigates how adolescents and their families talk about sex and relationships over the transition to high school and the role extended family members play in this communication. She has examined the roles of family religiosity and sexuality communication in predicting teens’ risky sexual behavior (Grossman, Frye, Charmaraman, & Erkut, in press; Grossman, Tracy, & Noonan, in press) and has begun to explore ways that parents who were adolescents when they had children talk with their own teens about sex compared to parents who were older when they had children (Grossman, Charmaraman, & Erkut, in press).

Her work on racial and ethnic identity has focused on the importance of race and ethnicity to adolescents’ background and on barriers to success for girls and teens of color. She recently completed a study that explores racial and gender barriers to STEM engagement among urban adolescents (Grossman & Porche, in press). She has also examined the centrality of racial/ethnic identity for minority and White teens (Charmaraman & Grossman, 2010; Grossman & Charmaraman, 2009). Her earlier work addressed issues of racism and relational health among Chinese American adolescents (Grossman & Liang, 2008; Liang, Grossman, & Deguchi, 2007). ”

Dr. Grossman joined the Wellesley Centers for Women in August 2006 as a NICHD postdoctoral research fellow. She received her B.A. from Oberlin College, her M.A. in counseling at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Boston College in 2005. In addition to her research work, Jenny is a licensed psychologist. She completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital, working primarily with children and adolescents. Her clinical experiences inform her research work and enhance her commitment to address mental health inequities through research, program development, and systemic change in support of healthy youth development.

Jennifer Grossman’s current projects:

Measuring the Impact of a Middle School Comprehensive Sex Education Curriculum

This project is a contract with Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts to conduct a randomized control evaluation of the Get Real middle school sexual education curriculum. The research team’s goal is to examine to what extent exposure to three years of comprehensive sex education in middle school can delay the early onset of sexual activity and promote the correct and consistent use of contraceptives among those who become sexually active. The research team is currently completing analyses of the 8^th grade data to examine the longitudinal effects of the curriculum.

Communication about sex in the nuclear family and beyond: Implications for health

This is a grant from NICHD to investigate how adolescents and their families talk about sex and relationships over the transition to high school and the role extended family members play in this communication. It follows up on her earlier interview study of 32 teen/parent pairs who are participants in the Get Real middle school sex education program. The current study will involve re-interviewing the sample of teens and parents when the teens are in high school, and includes interviews with extended family members who participating teens and parents identify as important resources for family sexuality communication to better understand the full ecology of sexuality communication.

Evaluator, National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity

This project, funded by the W. K. Kellogg foundation, will expand the National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum and make it accessible to a wider audience. This project includes a longitudinal evaluation of the influence of this intervention on teachers and students.