KC at the UIUC Relationships Research Lab.

My research investigates the developmental origins of behavior in close relationships. I am particularly interested in how earlier experiences are associated with outcomes in early adulthood, with emphasis on adult attachment representations and romantic relationship processes. I am also interested in how attachment history is carried forward to subsequent interpersonal contexts in terms of mental representations, behavior, and physiological reactivity. The larger goal of this work is to understand how earlier experiences are related to later social developmental adaptations, and how earlier experiences in relationships prepare individuals on multiple levels to engage in close relationships across the lifespan. In pursuing these questions, I have acquired extensive training in longitudinal, observational, and interview methods as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, as well as training in experimental and psychophysiological methods during  my postdoctoral work at the University of Illinois.

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Recent work
-   Methodological advances in the study of attachment-related  
    individual differences
-   Process power and partner buffering during conflict
-   Developmental antecedents of adults' interpersonal conflict strategies

Current projects
-   Behavioral and physiological interdependence between romantic        partners
-   Links between interpersonal conflict and sleep quality
-   Predictors of change in mental health and well-being in response        to the COVID-19 pandemic