About MARSH Lab
In MARSH Lab, we take a biopsychosocial approach to understand how close relationships, particularly parent-child and romantic relationships, affect stress and physical health. Our relationships with others can help buffer us from stress when they’re going smoothly, but low quality relationships can also create stress, and both sides have implications for physical health. Specifically, we are interested in how stress and relationships affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and inflammatory processes. Through multi-method studies utilizing observational, self-report, and biological measures, we aim to uncover how close relationships get “under the skin” and stay with us throughout our lifespans in order to inform translational research.
Psychological mechanisms linking relationships & health
The mere act of talking with a relationship partner, whether that conversation is supportive or contentious, is unlikely to have direct biological effects. Instead, the ways in which we interpret and internalize these interactions are likely to lead to psychological or behavioral changes that affect biological functioning. However, these psychological mechanisms have been understudied. We test mechanisms of relationship-health links to determine whether these may be good targets for future interventions. Currently, the lab is focusing on understanding the roles of emotion regulation and daily affective reactivity to stress and their links to relationships and health.
Legacy of early experiences for health and well-being
Adult health and well-being is not only shaped by what is happening in the moment. Childhood experiences can have lasting effects on outcomes from biological stress reactivity to emotional fluctuations to mortality and disease morbidity. We collaborate with the team from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation, a 4+ decade study of socioemotional development, to identify early risk factors for adult health and well-being and illuminate developmental pathways underlying these links.
potential for relationships to combat health disparities
Individuals with low socioeconomic status and people of color are at risk for experiencing poor health outcomes. Although major policy and structural changes are needed to reduce these disparities, there may also be effective smaller-scale interventions. We test the effects of race and SES (and the stressors associated with them) on relationship functioning and health to explore whether maintaining high quality relationships in the face of uncertainty and discrimination can help individuals build resources for coping, be less reactive to stress, and live healthier lives.
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