Kirsten K. Davison, PhD

Dr. Davison is Principal Investigator of the Fathers & Families Substudy. She is the Donahue and DiFelice Endowed Chair and Associate Dean for Research in the School of Social Work at Boston College, where she leads a research program focused on parenting and child health. Dr. Davison is also an adjunct Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Davison’s research primarily focuses on family and community factors that influence children’s lifestyle behaviors (diet, physical activity, sleep, screen-based activities) and risk of obesity. She has investigated parenting strategies that promote active lifestyles in children, and developed family-centered interventions for promoting children’s health. A primary emphasis of her work is the need to consider the family unit as a whole and address factors beyond the family (e.g., community resources, media factors) that impact on family interactions around healthy lifestyles.

Kirsten is the parent of two teenage boys who have taught her that every child has a unique temperament, which can lead to very different parenting approaches.