Differences between men and women: role of stress, hostility and autonomic nervous system functions in health and cardiovascular disease; psychological distress and recurring syncopes; risk of hypertension/heart disease/heart attacks, pain sensitivity and clinical impact; psychological or psychophysiological interventions.

Methods used:

Experimental and/or prospective studies with psychosocial interviews, physiological monitoring and blood tests. Ecological validation of data with monitoring of day-to-day behaviour, emotions and/or symptoms.

My research work addresses different themes linked to couple relationships, in the general population and in clinical populations. First of all, the adult attachment theory shapes much of my research. Drawing inspiration from this theoretical model, I examine the close bonds between attachment, conjugal support and sexuality, to better understand the dynamics of conjugal relations among different populations of couples. Second, I am especially interested in infertility. My work aims at 1) assessing the psychological, conjugal and sexual impacts of this problem, 2) assessing the specific needs of couples undergoing infertility treatment and 3) developing interventions for optimizing these couples' well-being. Lastly, conjugal abuse and dyadic coping are also among my fields of interest.