Susan South

Areas of Expertise

• Dr. South studies connections between personality, psychopathology, and relationships. She is particularly interested in how marriage can serve to either buffer against or contribute to the development of mental disorders.

Department of Psychological Sciences Research Area(s)

• Clinical Psychological Sciences

Biography

Dr. Susan C. South is a Professor of Clinical Psychology and the Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. Her research investigates the links between relationship satisfaction, personality, and psychopathology. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed empirical publications and 21 book chapters on the assessment of marital satisfaction, the links between mental illness and relationship distress, gene-environment interplay between marital dysfunction and mental illness, and behavior genetics, particularly as it relates to personality and relationships. She is currently examining interpersonal interactions as a risk factor for mild cognitive impairment, a study funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging. She has also been funded by Indiana’s Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and the Simon Foundation.

Recruiting graduate students for Fall 2025 admission.

Education

• PhD, 2006, University of Virginia

Websites

• Relationships and Mental Health (RMH) Lab

Professional Affiliations

• Associate Editor, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: PPID