Research Interests

At the broadest level, our lab researches family and dating relationships.  In terms of dating relationships, we examine how sleep, personality factors, mental health, and stress response impact the health of romantic relationships.  In terms of family relationships, we explore their impact on child development, including emotional and behavioral problems, physical health, and sleep.  A specific focus is on the impact of parental alcohol use, both healthy and unhealthy use, on children.  Our research is process-oriented, meaning that we attempt to answer questions about how and why families affect children, and which children under what conditions are at greatest or least risk for developing problems.  Some of the processes we examine include emotional security, emotion regulation, autonomic nervous system activity, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity.