Rosie Shrout

Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Science

Faculty Associate, Center on Aging and the Life Course

Courtesy Appointments

Department of Psychological Sciences

Areas of Expertise

Relationships, stress, and biobehavioral health across adulthood and later life
Stress and coping in couples with breast cancer or chronic illness
Infidelity and relationship conflict
Psychoneuroimmunology, including cardiovascular, immune, and endocrine function
Inflammation, gut microbiome, and aging biomarkers
Dyadic, daily, and longitudinal methods

HHS Signature Research Area(s)

Developmental Health and Wellness
Healthy Lifestyles and Vital Longevity
Sustainable Organizations and Thriving Communities

Department of Human Development and Family Science Research Area(s)

Culture and Diversity
Health and Well-Being
Interpersonal Relations

Biography

As a social-health psychologist with training in psychoneuroimmunology and quantitative methods, I study how stress affects couples’ relationships and health among aging couples and those with breast cancer or chronic illness. A central focus of my work is to understand why some couples grow stronger and healthier, while others experience relationship conflict and health problems. Because stress is inevitable and a natural part of everyday life and relationships, I developed the Dyadic Biobehavioral Stress Model to illustrate how couples’ stress and coping alters each partner’s relational, psychological, and physical health. This model and my work have shown that the way partners manage stress can get under each other’s skin to influence health, including their immune, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems. My work identifies factors that put couples’ relationships and health at risk and informs interventions on how couples can grow closer and stronger during turbulent times.

Accepting graduate student applications for the December 1, 2024 deadline.

Education

Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, Ohio State University
PhD, 2019, University of Nevada, Reno
2013, MA, Towson University
2011, BA, State University of New York at Potsdam

Websites

Social Media Accounts

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Safe Zone
LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Classrooms

Current Courses

HDFS 201 - Introduction to Relationship and Family Science

Selected Publications

Shrout, M.R., Renna, M.E., Leonard, M.J., Friedman, E.M., & Miller, K.D. (in press). Couples in breast cancer survivorship: Daily associations in relationship satisfaction, stress, and health. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2024.100261
Shrout, M.R., Wilson, S.J., Farrell, A.K., Rice, T.M., Weiser, D.A., Novak, J.R., & Monk, J.K. (2024). Dyadic, biobehavioral, and sociocultural approaches to romantic relationships and health: Implications for research, practice, and policy. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(2), e12943. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12943
Shrout, M. R., Weigel, D. J., & Laurenceau, J. P. (2024). Couples and concealable chronic illness: Investigating couples’ communication, coping, and relational well-being over time. Journal of Family Psychology, 38(1), 136–148. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001136
Shrout, M. R., Wilson, S. J., Renna, M. E., Madison, A. A., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. (2023). “We’ve got this:” Middle-aged and older couples’ satisfying relationships and we-talk promote better physiological, relational, and emotional responses to conflict. Psychosomatic Medicine, 85(2), 154-164. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001162
Shrout, M. R., Black, A. E., Wilson, S. J., Renna, M. E., Madison, A. A., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Reis, H. T. (2023). How aging couples’ emotional and physiological associations change across positive, supportive, and conflictual discussions: Roles of capitalization and responsive behaviors.  Biological Psychology, 177, 108500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108500
Shrout, M. R., Renna, M. E., Madison, A. A., Malarkey, W.B., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. (2023). Marital negativity’s festering wounds: The emotional, immunological, and relational toll of couples’ negative communication patterns. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 149, 105989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105989 *Editor's Choice Article
Shrout, M. R. (2021). The health consequences of stress in couples: A review and new integrated Dyadic Biobehavioral Stress Model. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health, 16, 100328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100328 *Outstanding Student/New Professional Paper Award, National Council on Family Relations’ Families and Health Section
Shrout, M. R., Renna, M. E., Madison, A. A., Alfano, C. M., Povoski, S. P., Lipari, A. M., Agnese, D. M., Farrar, W. B., Carson III, W. E., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2021). Breast cancer survivors’ satisfying marriages predict better psychological and physical health: A longitudinal comparison of satisfied, dissatisfied, and unmarried women. Psycho-Oncology, 30(5), 699-707. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5615 *Top Cited Article in the Publishing Year, *Award for Excellence in Research about Families, Purdue University’s Center for Families

Selected Honors/Awards

Success Mentors Faculty Favorites, Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences - 2023
Inaugural Early Career Editorial Board Member, Psychosomatic Medicine - 2022
Outstanding Student/New Professional Paper Award, National Council on Family Relations’ Families and Health Section - 2022
Emerging Scholar Award, Society for Personality and Social Psychology - 2022
Outstanding Student/New Professional Paper Award, National Council on Family Relations’ Families and Health Section - 2022
KL2 Early Career Investigator Award, National Institutes of Health, Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute - 2022-2024
Lorene Burkhart Award for Excellence in Research about Families, Purdue University’s Center for Families - 2022
Editor’s Choice Article, Psychoneuroendocrinology - 2020
Young Scholar Award, American Psychosomatic Society - 2020
Most Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher, University of Nevada, Reno Graduate Student Association - 2019

Selected Grants

Kinley Trust Award, Purdue University, 2023-2024, $25,000
HRV and Inflammation in Breast Cancer Survivors and Their Partners: A Daily Study on Biobehavioral Health and Cardiovascular Disease Risks. Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute KL2/K12 Early Career Investigator Award funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Total award: $383,460
Aging couples with concordant cardiovascular conditions: Dyadic and age-related risk and protective factors for cardiometabolic biomarkers and inflammation. Faculty Research Development Award, Purdue University Center on Aging and the Life Course and Department of Human Development and Family Science. Total award: $16,545.57

Professional Affiliations

American Psychosomatic Society
Gerontological Society of America
International Association for Relationship Research
National Council of Family Relations
Society for Personality and Social Psychology