Our Research
High-quality romantic relationships are important for overall health and well-being, but at the same time, relationships can be hard to maintain. Sexuality uniquely contributes to relationship quality, but sexual desire and satisfaction often decline over time in relationships. In our lab, we use rich, ecologically valid methods to best approximate couples’ actual relationship experiences, such as daily experience, dyadic and longitudinal methods, to understand the maintenance of diverse relationships including long-term couples, couples coping with clinical sexual issues, people in consensually nonmonogamous relationships, intercultural couples and couples transitioning to parenthood. We also explore how gender dynamics and gender-based attitudes shape romantic relationships and vice versa, including the division of labor, how women share their experiences of gender discrimination with men partners, and how couples navigate discussions about gender roles.
Maintaining Desire and Satisfaction in Relationships
Sexual desire is often what draws us to romantic partners but tends to decline over time in an established relationship. Declines in desire have implications for relationship satisfaction but are not inevitable in long-term relationships. In our lab we aim to understand the motivations, perceptions, behaviours and individual differences that associated with the maintenance of desire and satisfaction in relationships.
Buffering Against Differences or Challenges in Relationships
Even couples in happy relationships experience conflicts of interest. Partners might disagree on when and how frequently to engage in sex, or who should perform which household tasks, or how they should spend their shared time together. Romantic partners are also a key source of support when coping with challenges—such as health issues or a global pandemic—and are jointly navigating important life transitions, such as new parenthood. We investigate the factors that can help couples maintain satisfaction even in the face of differences or challenges.
Gender and Gender-Based Attitudes in Relationships
Gender roles and attitudes influence how couples navigate their relationships, from the division of household labor to the ways partners support each other through gendered experiences. Our research explores how women sharing their experiences of gender discrimination with a man partner may increase men's awareness of sexism and shape relationship dynamics. We also examine how couples discuss and negotiate gender roles, particularly in the division of household responsibilities, and how gender-based attitudes, including sexist beliefs, are linked to sexuality and relationship maintenance.