Jean-Philippe Laurenceau - US grants

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Abstract): This Minority NIMH Dissertation Grant application outlines a research project and the career goals of the minority candidate which focus on understanding the development and role of intimacy in marriage. The application describes an empirical investigation containing multiple research objectives within a single data collection procedure. Difficulties in marital relationships have been the most frequently raised complaints for which individuals seek psychological treatment and, in particular, problems with intimacy have been identified as the largest area of complaints. Failure to develop a close, confiding, intimate relationship in marriage has been associated with the development of mood disorders, problematic family structures, and marital dissatisfaction. Intimacy, is to test the validity of important aspects of a recently developed, comprehensive model of intimacy in couples. In this model, intimacy is conceptualized as a transactional, interpersonal process consisting of both self-disclosure and partner responsiveness. As suggested by this model, intimacy will be investigated through repeated, daily measurements of marital interactions over time A second research objective is to evaluate sex differences in the intimacy process that may exist between husbands and wives through examination of the importance of self-disclosure and partner responsiveness. Additionally, this research furthers the development of a longitudinal, idiographic research methodology for future use in investigating processes in marital and personal relationships. The potential for future use in investigating processes in marital and personal relationships.The potential findings from this project may not only provide support for a conceptualization of how intimacy in marriage is developed and maintained across time, but may also provide a way of understanding how to intervene when the intimacy process goes awry in couples.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application proposes a set of career development and research experiences facilitating the Candidate's long-term goal of becoming a mental health researcher and focusing on the study of personality processes in intimate relationships. Career development and research activities are designed to facilitate and enhance the Candidate's studying knowledge of a) models of personality and emotion, b) behavioral observation methods for studying interpersonal processes, c) daily-diary methods for studying interpersonal processes, and d) data analytic techniques for the analysis of change within dyadic data. During the majority of the award period, the Candidate's effort will focus on coursework, seminars, workshops, directed readings, individual meetings with the mentor and consultants, and the implementation of the proposed research. The research proposed in this application will be an investigation with multiple objectives within a single, longitudinal data collection procedure. Researchers, theorists, and clinicians have observed that intimate relationships can simultaneously have both positive and negative impacts on mental and physical health. Individual difference factors likely play a role in the course and conduct of close relationships. The overarching goal of the research proposed is to apply basic research methodologies to understand better the role of personality in close relationship processes. Within this broad goal, there are three specific aims: 1) to examine the role of several personality variables on daily stress and intimacy processes within the context of both positive and negative events in marriage; 2) to examine the influence of appetitive and aversive motivational sensitivities during intimate and conflictual interactions; 3) to examine how longitudinal changes in stress and intimacy processes predict changes in relationship satisfaction, depressive symptomatology, and psychological well-being over the first two years of marriage. Findings from this research are intended not only to elucidate the influence of specific individual difference factors in relationship processes, but also ultimately provide implications for intervention with members of intimate relationships. The proposed career development and research experiences will provide the Candidate with training and skills that can be applied toward the development of an R01 application during the latter portion of the requested 5-year award period.

Project Summary/Abstract Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second leading cause of cancer mortality among women in the US (ACS, 2017). High baseline prevalence, increasing screening rates, and better treatments have all contributed to a large population of BC survivors that will increase from an estimated 3.5 million in 2016 to a projected 4.5 million in the next 10 years (ACS, 2017). Multiple studies document fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) as a top long- term concern of both cancer survivors and their significant others that impacts on quality of life. Despite an increasing emphasis on FCR in the literature, a critical gap in knowledge is how FCR can produce health behavior consequences with known implications for long-term health outcomes. The overall objective of this proposal is to examine medication adherence, physical activity/sedentary behavior, and sleep as three proximal health behavior outcomes that are modifiable and have been linked to recurrence (for patients) as well as morbidity and mortality (for both patients and spouses/partners). Moreover, FCR and health behaviors are concordant within-couple reflecting an interdependent and interpersonal context that, if ignored, would limit a complete understanding of important health consequences of FCR. Preliminary data from a recently completed NCI-funded R21 project form the scientific premise and the basis of power analyses for the specific and exploratory aims. Using longitudinal, within-person methods as well as individual and dyadic multilevel structural equation modeling, we will pursue the following hypothesis-driven aims: 1) identify the consequences of FCR for physical activity; 2) identify the consequences of FCR for adherence to adjuvant hormonal treatment; and 3) identify the consequences of FCR for sleep quantity and quality. Finally, using biomarkers of cardio- metabolic health risk (i.e., HbA1c, lipids, insulin resistance, body composition), we will explore the links between the targeted health behaviors and these health outcomes. A long-term objective of the proposed work is to influence the development and refinement of interventions for FCR and health behaviors ultimately increasing optimal mental and physical well-being of cancer survivors and their spouses/partners.