The School of Nursing received a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop and test a new intervention for improving communication between parents and their LGBTQ+ sons.
“Parents ASSIST: Intervention to Improve Parent Communication about Sexuality with Sexual Minority Male Adolescents” is the five-year study of focus, led by Nursing professor Dalmacio Dennis Flores. The intervention — Parents Advancing Supportive and Sexuality-Inclusive Sex Talks — aims to provide parents with appropriate communication skills and LGBTQ+-specific health information.
The intervention is digitally accessible. According to Penn's Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, Parents ASSIST will be one of the first projects in the country, along with the Sexual Health Inclusivity during Family Talks program and the Gender-Inclusive Sexuality Talks project, to present animations to parents on LGBTQ+ topics.
“We are thrilled to receive this support from the NIH to address a critical need for families with adolescent sons who happen to have same-sex attractions, behaviors or identities,” Flores told the Nursing School.
Nursing School Dean Antonia Villarruel and Albert M. Greenfield Professor of Human Relations José Bauermeister will co-investigate the intervention.
The study will focus on Generation Z youth, a group that is coming out at earlier ages than previous generations and, according to the Nursing School announcement. A 2023 Gallup survey found that approximately 10.6% of Gen Z men identify as LGBTQ+.
The investigation will involve a randomized controlled trial with a sample of 476 parent-adolescent pairs from the United States. Participating parents will be randomly assigned to either the Parents ASSIST intervention or a comparison group.
The researchers will then assess the impact of the assigned intervention on the following dynamics: parent-adolescent sexuality communication, parent and youth mental health outcomes, parent-adolescent health behaviors, and larger family functioning.
“We believe that this intervention can help families navigate the challenges associated with coming out and create a more supportive and inclusive environment for gay or bisexual male youth,” Flores told the Nursing School. “By improving communication and providing parents with the information they need, we can help to reduce disparities in mental health and other outcomes among this youth population.”
Flores received a grant last year also from the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation to expand the Parents ASSIST program. The grant aims to help increase the spread of evidence-based interventions that benefit oppressed communities.
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