Lab News

October 25, 2021

A new article from the Williamson Lab was published in Psychological Science this week. Past research has reached mixed conclusions about whether natural disasters draw intimate partners together or push them apart. In a longitudinal study of married couples who lived through Hurricane Harvey, which hit Houston, Texas, in August 2017, we discovered that spouses experienced a temporary increase in relationship satisfaction immediately after the hurricane but then declined in satisfaction over the following year. Although natural disasters may lead partners to team up and value their relationships more than usual, at least initially, those gains typically subside as time passes.

September 30, 2021

A comprehensive review paper examining the demographics of participants in the relationships science literature that we completed and posted as a preprint a few months ago has now been accepted for publication in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. You can download the preprint of the manuscript here. 

June 24, 2021

Dr. Williamson, along with graduate student Yunzhi Zheng and colleague Dr. Neff, recently published an article in the National Council on Family Relations Report, in the special section Family Focus: Recovering from COVID-19. This research brief summarizes the results of her previous research on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on couples’ relationships and discusses the clinical implications of this research for therapists and family life educators. You can read the new article here.

June 14, 2021

The Williamson Lab has recently received two new grants from the Administration for Children and Families to study relationship interventions in adults and adolescents. We are looking for undergraduate research assistants to work on these and other ongoing projects. See a description of the projects here, and get information on how to apply for an RA position here.

May 18, 2021

The Williamson Lab recently completed a large-scale review of the relationship science literature to determine the extent to which samples used in this area of research are diverse and inclusive of under-represented groups. Across 750 studies, we found that the modal participant in a study of romantic relationships is 30 years old, White, American, middle-class, college educated, and involved in a different-sex, same-race relationship. Additionally, only 68 studies (9%) focused on traditionally underrepresented groups (i.e., non-White, low-income, and/or sexual and gender minorities). These findings underscore the need for greater inclusion of underrepresented groups to ensure the validity and credibility of relationship science. In the manuscript we provide general recommendations for the field to improve diversity and inclusion in our research.

You can download the preprint here: https://psyarxiv.com/c6qfy/

April 14, 2021

Undergraduate research assistant Yukta Sunkara will be presenting the results of her research at the UT College of Natural Sciences Undergraduate Research Forum this Friday. The event will be held virtually at https://cns.utexas.edu/tides/undergraduate/undergraduate-research-forum. You can view the video of her talk by clicking here, or on the URF website, then drop in to chat with Yukta on zoom about her work from 12:30-2:00pm on 4/16/21.

March 1, 2021

Last month Dr. Williamson gave an invited talk at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Close Relationships Preconference entitled “Meta-Research on Relationship Science: A Focus on Diversity and Inclusion.” The talk presented results from a systematic literature review that assesses the diversity and inclusion of under-represented groups in the research being conducted in our field. You can view a recording of the talk here.

February 22, 2021

Research from the Williamson Lab has been featured in a number of news outlets recently, including The Guardian, Forbes, and multiple articles on Psychology Today.

December 28, 2020

Dr. Williamson has been named Co-President of the ABCT Couples Research and Treatment Special Interest Group, which is the primary professional organization for clinical psychologists who study couple relationships and couple therapy. She will serve a two-year term as leader of this group, alongside Co-President Emily Salivar, Assistant Professor at Nova Southeastern University.

December 22, 2020

Dr. Williamson has published a new paper, in collaboration with HDFS colleague Dr. Neff, that examines how stress impacts one’s ability to provide support to their partner. Husbands experiencing greater chronic stress were less accurate in their assessments of their partner’s support needs, and even when husbands did notice that their partner desired support, they were less likely to provide support if they were coping with their own stress that day.