Professor and Extension Specialist, Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1570; 970-491-5648 (telephone); 970-491-7975 (fax); fetsch@cahs.colostate.edu (e-mail).

Since 1979 my primary research interests have focused on needs assessments and on answering the question--What preventive educational programs work best with whom under what circumstances? I am very interested in finding out what individuals and families need to learn about next related to Family Life. I am passionately interested in using the best empirical research methods available to determine which educational workshops work best to improve individuals' and families' quality of life and social well being.

Our work with RETHINK Parenting and Anger Management and Teen RETHINK Anger Management has uncovered when Cooperative Extension educational programs are effective at reducing anger, family conflict levels, and violence levels and when they are not. Our research has implications for graduate students, professionals, practitioners, and clinicians who want to improve parenting and increase anger control levels and who want to reduce anger, family conflict and violence levels.

We work with parents, teens, families, farm and ranch families, and anyone interested in effective programming. We study topics like child abuse prevention, anger reduction, stress and depression management, self-assessed competencies in youth, the human dimension of farming and ranching, program evaluation, needs assessment, resilience and positive family functioning.