My research focuses on family relationships and chronic illness. I am interested in the effects of close relationships on health and well-being in midlife and older adulthood, as well as the effects of illness on adults’ close relationships. I use a range of research methods including in-person interviews, experiments in the lab, and experience sampling as couples go about their daily lives. In this work I often apply social cognitive models to better understand mechanisms linking relationships and health. Findings from these studies are used to inform the development of dyadic (patient and close family member) interventions for chronic illness. This work has been supported by the National Institute on Aging; the National Institute of Mental Health; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute.