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A Look At The Sexceptional Research of SHA’s September 2023 Presenters: Dive Into The Science of Relationships

Calling all educators, therapists, coaches, researchers and sex nerds! Take a sneak peak at the cutting edge sexuality and relationship research that will be discussed at our this much anticipated event!

Get ready for another Sexual Health Alliance Sexceptional Weekend! This September, we are bringing you an incredible conference you don't want to miss! The Science Behind Relationships: Understanding Attachment, Maintenance, Infidelity and the Dissolution, is a special two-day event with expert speakers in the field of sexuality and relationship science. 

Everything takes place online (hello pajama bottoms) and you’ll have a chance to network and learn from some of the top sex and relationships experts.

Where else do you get the chance to rub virtual elbows with the top sexuality scientists? 

Now let’s dive in and learn a bit more about each of the expert speakers and their Sexceptional research! 

Research by Dr. Rhonda Balzarini: Assistant Professor at Texas State University and an Affiliated Faculty Member at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University

  • Recent research focuses on how diverse couples can have satisfying and passionate relationships and successfully navigate challenges through diversifying need fulfillment, engaging in novel and exciting activities, and being responsive during times of conflict or distress.

  • VR use is on the rise and it is projected that over 55 million people will actively use VR by 2022. However, a lot remains to be understood about the potential effects of VR use according to individual (for ex. attachment style), situational (for ex. under stress or during major life transition), or relational factors (for ex. in Latinos). A series of studies investigates those differences using different methods. Learn more about the Relational Self-Expansion in Virtual Reality series.

  • Supportive relationships are linked with greater well-being and can act as a buffer to even life’s biggest stressors, however, outside stressors can put pressure on even the most supportive and high-quality relationships, leading to more challenging relationship dynamics.

Research by Dr. Marie Thouin: Founder of Love InSight, a Mindful Dating and Relationship Coaching Practice

  • In the context of romantic and sexual relationships, compersion refers to the empathetic feeling of joy one experiences when their partner takes pleasure from another relationship. Thus, the experience of compersion powerfully dismantles mononormativity by demonstrating that it is possible to thrive within a non-monogamous context. Learn more about Dr. Marie Thouin’s research on compersion.

Research by Lisa Neff: Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin

  • Dr. Neff is an expert on marriage and family relationships and has conducted extensive research on how couples’ relationships develop and change over time. These studies aimed to: 

    • 1) identify the factors that promote stable, happier marriages (e.g., understanding conflict resolution and social support within relationships) and 

    • 2) identify how and when stressors external to the relationship (e.g., work stress, financial difficulties, in-laws, etc.) may hinder couples' efforts to engage in relationship-promoting behaviors. 

  • Most recently, she has begun examining relationships and dating in later life in order to identify potential age-related changes in how couples approach relationship challenges as well as the implications of different coping strategies for emotional and physical health. 

Research by Dr. Sarah Stanton: Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Edinburgh

Research by Dr. Bill Chopik: Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University

  • Dr. Bill Chopik is a social-personality psychologist interested in how relationships and the people in them change over time and across situations. His research focuses on how factors both inside (biological, hormonal) and outside (social roles, geography) of people influence their approach to social relationships. His work examines phenomena as broad as how relationships and social institutions shape development and as focused as the hormonal mechanisms that underlie love and intimacy. One of his recent research pieces is titled Trait and facet personality similarity and relationship and life satisfaction in romantic couples.

Research by Dr. Laura Vowels: Junior Lecturer and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland

  • Dr. Laura Vowels conducts research around sex and relationships. She is especially interested in the role of sexual desire in couple functioning and how couples navigate instances of desire discrepancy in their relationships. In May 2019, she received the Sandra Leiblum student research award for the best manuscript, which was titled “Strategies for mitigating desire discrepancy in long-term relationships”.

Research by Dr. Dylan Selterman: Associate Teaching Professor at the Johns Hopkins University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

  • Dr. Dylan Selterman is a social-personality psychologist working as an Associate Teaching Professor at the Johns Hopkins University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. His research interests include: interpersonal attraction, relationships, and sexuality, morals and ethics, political psychology, happiness and well-being, and patterns of dreaming. One of his recent research pieces is titled Experiences of Romantic Attraction Are Similar Across Dating Apps and Offline Dates in Young Adults.

Research by Dr. Christopher Agnew: Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University

  • Dr. Christopher Agnew’s research focuses on close, interpersonal relationships and the use of relational models to understand broader social and health processes. He has published and presented his research widely, and has received funding from federal agencies (e.g., National Institutes of Health), private foundations (e.g., Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), and corporations (e.g., Meta). One of his recent research works is titled Relationship Maintenance in Older Adults: Considering Social and Evolutionary Psychological Perspectives.

Research by Dr. Taylor Kohut: Post-Doctoral Fellow and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Western University

  • Dr. Taylor Kohut is a Post-Doctoral Fellow and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychology at Western University. He completed a doctoral dissertation concerning lay conceptualizations of pornography in 2014. His primary research involves the use and impact of pornography within romantic relationships. Recent research projects have also included experimental and survey investigations of the impact of pornography exposure on the practice of novel sexual behaviors, sexual health behaviors, and sexual aggression, and surveys concerning the association between pornography use and gender egalitarian attitudes. Other research interests include psychosocial approaches to health promotion behaviors, particularly in the areas of sexual risk reduction and prevention behaviors and polyamory. One of his recent research articles is titled Novel Sexual Behavior and Relationship Quality in Long-Term Mixed-Sex Couples.

Research by Dr. Anik Debrot: Tenured Lecturer at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland

  • Dr. Anik Debrot’s research focuses on two facets of the association between close relationships and well-being:

  • First, investigating affectionate behaviors (with a focus on touch) as a mechanism linking close relationships to well-being;

  • Second, using the internet to provide empirically grounded support either for people that have lost such relationships or to promote such support.

One of Dr. Anik Debrot’s recent publications is titled Love in the time of COVID: Perceived partner responsiveness buffers people from lower relationship quality associated with COVID-related stressors.


Research by Dr. Nicole Prause: Scientist and Licensed Psychologist 

  • Dr. Nicole Prause, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist researching human sexual behavior, addiction, and the physiology of sexual response. She is also the founder of Liberos LLC, an independent research institute. Check out a few of her recent research pieces. 

Research by Dr. Lisa Diamond, Ph.D.: Professor of Developmental Psychology, Health Psychology, and Gender Studies at The University of Utah 

  • Dr. Lisa Diamond’s research focuses on sexuality, gender, and intimate relationships, and their implications for health and well-being over the life course. Her primary research areas include 

  1. fluidity in sexual and gender expression among women and men, 

  2. biological underpinnings of sexual desire and experience, 

  3. the impact of early-life adversity on social and sexual development, and

  4. the implications of sexual well-being for physical and mental health. 

 

In addressing these questions, she uses a diverse range of research methods, including longitudinal observation across multiple time spans, controlled laboratory experiments, and collection of biomarkers (such as oxytocin, cortisol, and markers of systemic inflammation). Her recent research publications include Rethinking minority stress: A social safety perspective on the health effects of stigma in sexually-diverse and gender-diverse populations and Menstrual-cycle changes in daily sexual motivation and behavior among sexually-diverse cisgender women.

Sexual Health Alliance Brings You The Latest and Greatest in Sexological and Relationship Science 


Trust us, you don’t want to miss this mind-blowing lineup of sexuality researchers! Tickets are still available for this virtual Sexceptional Weekend. Get your tickets now for The Science Behind Relationships: Understanding Attachment, Maintenance, Infidelity and the Dissolution. At Sexual Health Alliance, we believe you deserve the best sexuality education, so we bring in the best sexuality experts for you. With provocative dialogue and radical collaboration, SHA is building communities that are well-informed and inclusive.

Don’t forget, get this weekend included in your tuition with you join one of our sexuality certification programs!

Written by Michelle Melville-Kashon.