Our research is motivated by a desire to understand how important emotional and interpersonal processes, which are typically assumed to apply to all people, may instead differ across people in meaningful ways. We are particularly interested in individual differences in people’s approaches to and experiences in close relationships; how these differences develop and change over time and across the lifespan; and the implications of these differences for interpersonal, dyadic, and physiological outcomes. We approach these issues from an integrative, multidisciplinary perspective, incorporating measures of biological markers (e.g., hormones) and cognitive processes (e.g., memory), as well as dyadic and longitudinal data analytic techniques, to address meaningful questions about human behavior.

Many of our recent projects focus on links between hormones and romantic relationship processes (see Edelstein, 2022). For instance, we have assessed changes in hormones and adjustment among couples during the transition to first-time parenthood. Our findings suggest that both expectant mothers and fathers show reliable changes in hormones, such as testosterone and estradiol, during the prenatal period (Edelstein et al., 2015). Moreover, these changes are linked with postpartum parenting behavior and relationship satisfaction in both parents (Edelstein et al., 2017; Saxbe et al., 2017; Sim et al., 2020). We also collected data from expectant lesbian couples to assess their unique experiences during the prenatal period (e.g., Ascigil et al., 2021), including the physiological implications of this major life transition; our findings suggest that changes in hormones predict similar outcomes in this population as well (Chin et al., 2020).

In a related line of work, we assessed hormone changes in couples as a function of emotional intimacy. In one study, couples came to the lab for an emotionally intimate (or control) discussion, and we assessed changes in testosterone and cortisol as a function of the discussion (Chin et al., 2021). We found that both hormones increased following emotionally intimate discussions, and these increases were at least partially mediated by the participants’ degree of self-disclosure. This was a somewhat unexpected finding, given that testosterone (and to a lesser extent, cortisol) tend to decrease in nurturant contexts (e.g., Edelstein et al., 2019); however, we suspect that our findings may be due to the novelty or excitement of the lab discussion. We are currently testing these alternative explanations with other kinds of interaction tasks that may better distinguish among novelty, emotional intimacy, and excitement (e.g., Brandon et al., in press).

Other projects focus on the interpersonal and physiological implications of racial discrimination in same- and mixed-raced couples (e.g., From et al., 2024), the effects of gender-based social movements on interpersonal relationships, links between conflict, health, and sleep in romantic relationships, and positivity effects in memory.