WI Student Presents at IARR Conference

First-year Clinical student, Anthony Lucas will be presenting a paper with Dr. Lauren Shapiro at this year's International Association for Relationship Research conference in June. The paper explores the inter- and intra-personal dynamics involved in the decision to marry. Thematic analysis was conducted on semi-structured interviews with 48 newlyweds.

Major themes included: The collaborative nature of envisioning and constructing a shared future, the role of social pressure and support- in the form of cultural scripts and family prodding-and the conceptualization of marriage as a vehicle for expressing love and commitment to one's partner as well as communicating a shift in relationship status to the community.