My research interests focus mainly on the effect of social stigmatization on people's everyday lived experiences and well-being. I am currently involved in several research projects, some of which are described below. Further, my graduate students and I are pursuing a number of projects in our Psychology of Sexuality and Relationships (PSR) Lab.
Lives & Relationships Project
Role: Principal Investigator
The Lives & Relationships Study began in 2008 as a brief
Internet-based survey of people who were members of a wide diversity
of romantic relationships (e.g., heterosexual, same-sex, interracial,
age-gap, monogamous, open, interfaith relationships). The study
focused on a multitude of factors ranging from intimacy and relationship
quality to psychological well-being and mental health. Due to
an overwhelmingly positive initial response to the study, additional
waves of data collection have been conducted and will continue.
Approximately 1,000 participants residing in every US state and
Canadian province have participated in the four waves
of data collection. This study will conclude in August 2011.
Relationship
Stories Project
Role: Principal Investigator
This project examines the stories that a national purposive sample of 150 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual individuals wrote about their romantic relationships. The study focuses on the ways in which people make sense of and give meaning to their experiences of intimacy in long-term relationships, as well as how aspects of people’s relationship stories can predict relational and psychological well-being. Additionally, the study focuses on the complicated similarities and differences in same-sex couples’ and heterosexual couples experiences of intimacy in the context of societal stigmatization and discriminatory social policies.
Medgar Evers Personal Project Survey (PI: William E. Cross, Jr., Ph.D.)
Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Examined the personal projects of African-American undergraduates at Medgar Evers College in order to understand individual and psychosocial factors contributing to their success and struggles within the university system.
Project STRIDE (PI: Ilan H. Meyer, Ph.D.)
Role: Project Coordinator & Data Analyst
Based at Columbia University, this NIMH-funded study employed quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the relationship between stigma-related stressors, identity, and mental health among a community sample of 524 gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual men and women in New York City.