Expertise

Research Interests:

  • Couples and Chronic Illness Management
  • Committed Relationships and Engagement in Health Behaviors
  • Same-Sex Couples and health processes
  • Bioregulation (sleep, exercise, & nutrition) on mental and physical health
  • Process Research in MFT.

My program of research is on the nexus of couple relationships and health behaviors, specifically with how couple processes might attenuate negative health outcomes. I also am interested in understanding how health and wellness (or lack of) influence relationship processes.

Research Projects:

  • Health Status and Behavior Concordance among Couples with Type 2 Diabetes
  • The Diabetes Family Network: Online education and Intervention for families with diabetes
  • Healthy We, Healthy Us: Becoming Partners in Health
  • Health Attitudes and Beliefs in Same-Sex Couples
  • Health Behavior Concordance and Health Support Concordance in Couple Relationships.

We have several important projects taking place:

  1. Health Concordance in Couples with Type 2 Diabetes
  2. Intuitive Eating/Exercise in Gay Male Marriages
  3. Perceptions of Illness/Health between Couples
  4. Sleep in Couples.

We seek to answer two main lines of questioning that are of fundamental interest:

  1. What relationship processes (coping, communication, support, responsiveness, etc.) can either improve or worsen physical health (health behaviors or health outcomes)? 
  2. How health and wellness (or lack of) influence relationships and relationship processes?

Research Projects:

  • Committed Relationships and Health Behaviors
  • Health attitudes and Behaviors in Gay Male Couples
  • Perceptions of Health and Illness in Couple Relationships.

Ongoing Projects:

  • Committed Relationships and Health Behaviors
  • Health attitudes & Behaviors in Gay Male Couples.
Communities
Human Development
Degrees
PhD, Brigham Young University, Marriage and Family Therapy, 2015
MS, Texas Tech University, Marriage and Family Therapy, 2012
BA, Anderson University, Psychology, 2010
Keywords
behavioral or social studies family or marriage counseling sociological theory mind body relationship family health services family therapy qualitative research