Happily married people live longer, healthier lives than those who are unhappily married, single, or divorced. Marriage’s health impact is similar to if not greater than how often people exercise, drink, and smoke. Though a satisfying marriage protects health, a dissatisfying marriage poses psychological, emotional, and physical health risks. These health effects have inspired calls for treating relationships as a public health priority of equal importance to lifestyle factors.

Our research examines why marriage confers health risks for some and health benefits for others, particularly among couples with breast cancer or chronic illness. Because stress is inevitable and a natural part of everyday life and relationships, we study how partners manage stress and get under each other’s skin to influence health. Our work has shown that couples' stress and communication influences each partner’s health, including their immune, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems, as well as their gut microbiome. Our goal is to identify factors that put couples’ relationships and health at risk, and to inform interventions on how couples can grow closer and stronger during turbulent times.

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We use multiple methods, including:

• Lab-based observational and experimental designs 

• Survey methods

• Ecological momentary assessments

• Daily and longitudinal designs

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We focus on multiple aspects of health:

• Inflammation

• Heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV)

• Electrodermal activity (EDA)

• Hormones (e.g., cortisol)

• Health behaviors

• Self-reported psychological and physical health