College of Education and Human Development

Family Social Science

Christopher Mehus

  • Research Associate Professor

Christopher Mehus

Areas of interest

Parenting behaviors and the role of parent-child relationships in developmental pathways
Understanding the intersection of trauma and parent-child interactions
Engaging parents in adolescent health and healthcare
Evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of parenting programs delivered through primary care settings

Degrees

PhD, Couple and Family Therapy, Family Social Science, University of Minnesota
Master of Arts, Marriage and Family Therapy, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Biography

I am a Prevention Scientist with a background in family science, family therapy, parenting interventions, primary care research, and psychological trauma. My overarching goal is to improve public health by supporting parents in raising healthy children. I am pursing this goal through research to foster engagement in and create sustainable access to effective parenting interventions and support, with an emphasis on highly stressed families. This research agenda includes gaining a better understanding of parenting behaviors and the role of parent-child relationships in developmental pathways; understanding the intersection of trauma and parent-child interactions; engaging parents in adolescent health and healthcare; and evaluating the effectiveness and implementation of parenting programs delivered through primary care settings. Learn more about my research at KnowledgeforParents.umn.edu

Publications

(Selected Publications - see CV for full list)

  1. Mehus, C. J., Buchanan, G., Ballard, J., Berkel, C., Borowsky, I., Estrada, Y., Klein, J., Kuklinski, M., Prado, G., Shaw, D., & Smith, J. D. (In Press). Multiple perspectives on motivating parents in pediatric primary care to initiate participation in parenting programs. Academic Pediatrics. Read the full article. 
  2. Mehus, C. J., Stevenson, B., Weiler, L., Gunlicks-Stoessel, M., Morrell, N., & Patrick, M (2023). An example of implementing a safety protocol in remote intervention and survey research with college students. Clinical Trials, 20(5), 571-575. Read the full article.
  3. Mehus, C. J., Voller, V., Gewirtz O’Brien, J., Gower, A., McRee, AL., & Sieving, R. (2023). How is time alone introduced? Experiences and preferences of adolescents and parents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 73(1), 190-194. Read the full article.
  4. Brar, P., Sieving, R., Steiner, R., Gewirtz-O’Brien, J., Moore, M., Mehus, C. J., Ross, C., Klein, J., & Santelli, J. (2022) Provider facilitation of parent-adolescent health communication: Findings from a national survey. Journal of Pediatric Health Care. Advanced online publication. Read the full article.
  5. Mehus, C. J., Gewirtz O’Brien, J., Klein, J., Santelli, J., Sieving, R., & McRee, A. (2022) Opportunities to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in primary care clinics. Clinical Pediatrics. Advanced online publication. Read the full article.
  6. Gewirtz O’brien, J., Brar, P., Worley, J., Woodlee, C., Kelly, E., So, M., McRee, AL., & Mehus, C. J. (2022) Development of a shelter-based health empowerment program for pregnant and parenting youth experiencing homelessness. Progress in Community Health Partnerships,16(4), 473-489. Read the full article.
  7. Mehus, C. J., Patrick, M., Schulenberg, J., & Maggs, J. (2022) 35-year-old parents do not approve of 17-year-olds’ cigarette, marijuana, or alcohol use: U.S. national data 1993-2018. Journal of Adolescent Health, 70(6), 989-992. Read the full article.
  8. Sieving, R., Mehus, C. J., Gewirtz O’Brien, J., Steiner, R., Wang, S., Catallozzi, M., Gorzkowski, J., Grilo, S., Kaseeska, K., McRee, AL., Santelli, J., & Klein, J. (2022). Correlates of discussions about sexual and reproductive health during adolescent preventive care visits: Findings from a representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 70(3), 421-428. Read the full article.
  9. Mehus, C. J., Aldrin, S., Steiner, R., Brar, P., Gewirtz O’Brien, J., Gorzkowski, J., Grilo, S., Klein, J., McRee, AL., Ross, C., Santelli, J., & Sieving, R. (2022). Parents’ sources of adolescent sexual health information and the role of primary care. Academic Pediatrics, 22(3), 396-401. Read the full article.
  10. Mehus, C. J., Buchanan, G., & Unell, B (2022). Feasibility of a novel, brief parenting intervention in primary care clinics. Families, Systems, and Health, 40(2), 152-159. Read the full article.
  11. Mehus, C. J., Lyden, G., Bonar, E., Gunlicks-Stoessel, M., Morrell, N., Parks, M., Wagner, A., & Patrick, M. (2021) Association between COVID-19-related loneliness or worry and symptoms of anxiety and depression among first-year college students. Journal of American College Health. Advance online publication. Read the full article.
  12. Mehus, C. J., & Patrick, M. (2021). Prevalence of spanking in US national samples of 35-year-old parents from 1993 to 2017. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(1), 92-93. Read the full article.
  13. Mehus, C. J., Wieling, E., Oloya, O.T., Achan, L., & Ertl, V. (2021). The impact of alcohol misuse on fathering in northern Uganda: An ethnographic study of fathers. Transcultural Psychiatry, 58(1), 14-26. Read the full article.
  14. Mehus, C. J., & Patrick, M. E. (2020). Alcohol use among 10th-graders: Distinguishing between high-intensity drinking and other levels of use. Journal of Adolescence, 83, 27–30. Read the full article.
  15. Patrick, M. E., Evans-Polce, R. J., Wagner, A. C., & Mehus, C. J. (2020). High-intensity drinking by parental status: Differences by age and sex. Addictive Behaviors, 102, 106180. Read the full article.
  16. Mehus, C. J., Kazlauskaite, V., Colianni, S., & Borowsky, I. (2019). Parent interest in resources to address their child’s behavioral health through primary care. Families, Systems, and Health, 37(3), 244-248. Read the full article.
  17. Mehus, C. J., Forster, M., Chan, G., Hemphill, S., Toumbourou, J., & McMorris, B. (2018). Longitudinal, reciprocal relationships between parental monitoring and antisocial peer associations. Journal of Adolescence, 68, 146-151. Read the full article.
  18. Mehus, C. J., Doty, J., Chan, G., Kelly, A., Hemphill, S., Toumbourou, J., & McMorris, B. (2018). Testing the Social Interaction Learning Model’s applicability to adolescent substance misuse in an Australian context. Substance Use and Misuse, 53(11), 1859-1868. Read the full article.
  19. Mehus, C. J., Wieling, E., Achan, L., & Oloya, T. (2018). Identifying the roles of fathers in post-war northern Uganda: Groundwork for a parenting intervention. African Studies, 77(4), 526-548. Read the full article.
  20. Mehus, C. J., Watson, R., Eisenberg, M., Corliss, H., & Porta, C. (2017). Living as an LGBTQ adolescent and a parent’s child: Overlapping or separate experiences. Journal of Family Nursing, 23(2), 175-200. Read the full article.
  21. Wieling, E., Mehus, C. J., Möllerherm, J., Neuner, F., Achan, L., & Catani, C. (2017). Preparing the field for feasibility testing of a parenting intervention for war-affected mothers in northern Uganda. Family Process, 56(2), 376-392. Read the full article.
  22. Leslie, L., Mehus, C. J., Hawkins, J. D., Boat, T., McCabe, M. A., Barkin, S., Perrin, E., Metzler, C., Prado, G., Tait, V. F., & Beardslee, W. (2016). Primary health care: Potential home for family-focused preventive interventions. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 51(4), S106-S118. Read the full article.
  23. Mehus, C. J., & Becher, E. (2016). Compassion fatigue, burn out, and compassion satisfaction in spoken-language interpreters. Traumatology, 22(4), 249-254. Read the full article.
  24. Mehus, C. J., (2015). A tactile lifeline applied to couple therapy. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 26(4), 318-322. Read the full article.
  25. Wieling, E., Mehus, C. J., Moellerherm, J., Neuner, F., Catani, C., & Achan, L. (2015). Assessing the feasibility of a parenting intervention for war-affected families in Northern Uganda. Family and Community Health, 38(3), 253–268. Read the full article.

Recent News

"The U.S. parental mental health crisis and what to do about it," On Point, WBUR

"FSOS researchers to launch and test 'Empowered Generations' statewide," Family Social Science News

"Spanking has declined America, study finds, but pediatricians worry about impact of pandemic," CNN

"Spanking on the Decline in American Homes," U.S. News and World Report

"Millennials and Gen-Xers are less likely to spank their children than previous generations, U of M researchers find," Minnpost