Jennifer M. Grossman, Ph.D.

Research Scientist

Jennifer M. Grossman is a Research Scientist, focusing on adolescent development, racial and ethnic identity, and sexual health and risk-taking. She is co-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 is also co-PI on an NICHD grant investigating the construct of shared religiosity with family as a contributor both to adolescents’ social capital derived from family relationships and to their sexual motivations and behaviors. She also works with the Mixed Ancestry project, and with Research Scientist Linda Charmaraman focuses on racial-ethnic centrality of adolescents from different racial groups. They have recently completed a paper exploring racial-ethnic centrality among White adolescents (Grossman & Charmaraman, in press) and they are currently working on a paper investigating this same construct among adolescents of color, with an emphasis on those of mixed racial heritage. Her past work addressed issues of racism and relational health among Chinese American adolescents. Specifically, projects examined experiences of peer discrimination and associations between discrimination, peer relationships, and social competence.

Dr. Grossman joined the Wellesley Centers for Women in August 2006 as a National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) postdoctoral research fellow. She received her B.A. from Oberlin College and her M.A. in counseling at the University of Illnois Urbana-Champaign in addition to her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Boston College in August 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. Jenny has also worked as a Sexuality Educator for Planned Parenthood, providing school-based education for urban youth on issues such as relationships, communication, and sexual decision-making. She received her B.A. in English and Jewish Studies from Oberlin College and her M.S. in Counseling from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.