"Stress is not a state of mind... it's measurable and dangerous, and humans can't seem to find their off-switch."

- Robert M. Sapolsky, M.D.

Stress is inherent in every day life. Daily stress captures the common every day negative occurrences that affect our health and well-being. The variability of daily stress contexts intrigues me in that you can have a number of different daily stressors from arguments with a spouse to a deadline at work. It can include severe arguments about how to raise your children and it can include feeling a nauseous after having that bean and cheese burrito after lunch. And it has been shown that daily stress impacts not only your health over the course of a few days... but up to fifteen years later!

I am particularly interested in how the characteristics of daily stress might change the impact of a daily stressor. Every stressor is different and unique; daily stressors vary by severity, who was involved, whether the stressor was resolved or not. For different people, these different contexts might impact them differentially - and that is one of my primary areas of interest.

My research often focuses on daily stressors that involve family, or other people we care about. Life and development is inherently a social act; you interact with people nearly every day, and, these interactions help shape your health and well-being. When these interactions are negative and stressful, they negatively impact your health and well-being. I often focus on what about these relationships make daily stressors more stressful and more impactful to health and well-being; moreover, I explore the intersection between social relationship and characteristics of daily stress in the form of interpersonal daily stressors - the arguments, avoided arguments, and indirect interpersonal stressors that occur in daily living.

One of the best ways to study daily stress is through complex daily study designs. Designs such as ecological assessments, ambulatory assessments, and daily diaries leave you with a plethora of data to work with. In understanding quantitative methodology, I am better equipped to handle these data and to answer the questions that are imperative to daily stress - health associations.