The biennial International Association for Relationship Research conference will take place July 12-16 at CSU in Fort Collins. This year, it is organized by a steering committee that includes several Colorado State faculty.

Register early

Registration information is here. Early bird registration ends May 30.

“CSU is pleased and proud to be presenting this year’s IARR conference, which will welcome experts on topics ranging from family studies to psychology to communication,” said Jennifer Harman, co-chair of the conference steering committee, and associate professor in the Department of Psychology. “We as scientists support the application of our studies and findings in helping society advance the ability to maintain healthy, stable relationships with each other.”

This year’s keynote speakers

• Tamara Afifi, professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California-Santa Barbara. Afifi’s research includes how people communicate when they are stressed, and the impact of those communication patterns on personal and relational health. Her most recent research explores influence of parents’ communication patterns on adolescents’ and parents’ biological stress responses.
• Kira Birditt, research associate professor in the Life Course Development Program of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. She researches interpersonal problems, and how positive and negative aspects of relationships are associated with physical and psychological well-being.
• Guy Bodenmann, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. His research is in stress and coping in couples, relationship evolution, and impact of relationship functioning on mental disorder of partners and children.
• Jeffrey Simpson, professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. He studies attachment processes; human mating and decision-making; empathic accuracy; social influence in romantic relationships; social development and health outcomes; and social development in parental investments.

Topics, more info

Among the research topics invited speakers will address: stress, conflict and support; highs and lows of romantic relationships; sexual desire and attraction; daily social interactions; parenting styles and goals, and “How well do we know our partner?”

For more information or to browse a schedule of events, visit the conference website.

For more information about the International Association for Relationship Research, visit the organization’s website.