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Research
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Relationships, Biology & Health | ||
 | I am interested in how close relationships influence biological changes and physical health outcomes. My primary interest is in allostatic processes—biological processes that aid individuals in recovering from environmental challenges. My specific interests relate to two main allostatic processes: regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and immune responses to infection. Several lines of research have shown that social relationships—marriage in particular—confer health benefits. However, very little is known about the psychological and physiological processes that explain relationship-health links. |  |
| My work in this area focuses on how daily stressors in married couples are linked to changes in HPA activity. My collaborators and I recently completed the first wave of data collection for a 5-year longitudinal EAR study of 50 married couples with 3-5 year old children in which we assessed HPA axis activity via diurnal salivary cortisol and collected EMA data (using the EAR as well as self-reports) 6 times a day over a 3 day period (Slatcher, Robles, Repetti, Fellows, & Pennebaker, 2008). We are finding, for example, that variations in cortisol are independently negatively associated with self- and spouse-reported moment-to-moment feelings of parenting stress and negatively associated with self-and spouse-reported work stress. This study is the first to our knowledge to investigate the effects of moment-to-moment changes in family dynamics on the HPA axis. |  |
| Building on this work, I am currently investigating the links between so-called “risky” family environments (Repetti, Taylor, & Seeman, 2002)—characterized by overt family conflict, deficient nurturing, and family relationships that are cold and unsupportive—and physical health outcomes. In collaboration with Ted Robles and Rena Repetti at UCLA, I am conducting an 8-week daily diary study of the biological mechanisms underlying how risky family environments influence susceptibility to upper respiratory-tract infections (URIs). URIs provide an ideal context for studying the effects of family characteristics on short-term health outcomes, being the most common and costly type of infectious diseases among children and adults in the United States. This project, which is funded by the William T. Grant Foundation, will lay the groundwork for a larger, more comprehensive longitudinal study of the links between family environments and physical health problems. |  |
