Our Research
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:
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Lab-based observational and experimental designs
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Survey methods
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Ecological momentary assessments
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Daily and longitudinal designs
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We focus on multiple aspects of health:
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Inflammation
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Heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV)
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Electrodermal activity (EDA)
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Hormones (e.g., cortisol)
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Health behaviors
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Self-reported psychological and physical health
Our Collaborators
Our lab is highly interdisciplinary and collaborative. In addition to human development and family studies, our collaborators span clinical and health psychology, oncology, communication studies, pharmacy, industrial-organizational psychology, and physiology. Across our work, we share the goal of improving the relationships and health of those with and without chronic illness or cancer.
Dr. Megan Renna
Southern Mississippi University
School of Psychology
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Dr. Stephanie Wilson
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Department of Psychology
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Dr. Dana Weiser
Texas Tech University
Human Development and Family Science
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Dr. Dan Weigel
University of Nevada, Reno
Cooperative Extension; Social Psychology; Human Development and Family Science​​​
Dr. Emily Buehler
Purdue University
School of Communication
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Dr. Melissa Robertson
University of Georgia
Department of Psychology
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Dr. Terri Orbuch
Oakland University; University of Michigan
Department of Sociology
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Dr. Annelise Madison
The University of Michigan
Department of Psychology​​​