Behavioral Medicine Research Lab

Principal Investigators

Tamara Sher, PhD
Vice President for Research, The Family Institute

Nearly 1 in 2 people have a chronic, medical condition. This could be an illness like cancer, diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, or a condition such as migraines or back pain from a car accident. In addition, almost all adults will be in or have been in a committed, romantic relationship. Taken together, these statistics suggest that most of us will experience illness from the point of view of the patient and/or the partner of a patient. The Behavioral Medicine Lab at The Family Institute is interested in the effects that a relationship has on a medical condition, and conversely, the effects that a medical condition has on a relationship. Current studies in the lab include the following:

• The effects of hearing loss on couples and relationship functioning;
• The communication of couples in which one person has heart disease;
• The effects of bariatric surgery on couple functioning;
• The prediction of vaccine behavior in an undergraduate sample.

Within the lab students, both graduate and undergraduate, are involved with all aspects of the research process including literature reviews, methodology, analysis of data, and interpretation of data findings. They are also an integral part of the dissemination of findings including participation in the writing of articles and the presentation of findings at meetings.