Wendy BirminghamBrigham Young University - Provo Main Campus | BYU · Department of Psychology
Wendy Birmingham
Ph.D
About
62
Publications
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2,739
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Additional affiliations
June 2013 - present
May 2011 - present
May 2011 - May 2013
Huntsman Cancer Institute
Position
- Researcher
Education
August 2006 - May 2011
Publications
Publications (62)
Social support has long been associated with cardiovascular disease risk assessed with blood pressure (BP). BP exhibits a circadian rhythm in which BP should dip between 10 and 15% overnight. Blunted nocturnal dipping (non-dipping) is a predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality independent of clinical BP and is a better predictor of cardi...
Ambivalence in social interactions has been linked to health-related outcomes in private relationships and recent research has started to expand this evidence to ambivalent leadership at the workplace by showing that ambivalent supervisor-employee relationships are related to higher stress levels in employees. However, the mental health consequence...
Being satisfied in marriage provides protective stress buffering benefits to various health complications but the causal mechanisms and speed at which this is accomplished is less well understood. Much of the research on health and marriage has conceptualized marital quality in a unidimensional way, with high levels of either positivity or negativi...
Objective: In light of COVID-19, leaders issued stay-at-home orders, including closure of higher-education schools. Most students left campus, likely impacting their employment and social network. Leaders are making decisions about opening universities and modality of instruction. Understanding students' psychological, physiological, academic, and...
Background
Cancer impacts both patients and their family caregivers. Evidence suggests that caregiving stress, including the strain of taking on a new role, can elevate the risk of numerous health conditions, including high blood pressure (BP). However, the caregiver’s psychosocial experiences, including their interpersonal relationship with the pa...
Purpose/Objectives
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic arguably represents the worst public health crisis of the 21st century. However, no empirical study currently exists in the literature that examines the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on dental education. This study evaluated the impact of COVID‐19 on dental education and dental...
Purpose/objectives:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic arguably represents the worst public health crisis of the 21st century. However, no empirical study currently exists in the literature that examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental education. This study evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on dental education and dental...
Higher quality relationships have been linked to improved outcomes; however, the measurement of relationship quality often ignores its complexity and the possibility of co‐occurring positivity and negativity across different contexts. The goal of this study is to test the added benefit of including multiple dimensions, contexts, and perspectives of...
Background:
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic led to substantial public discussion. Understanding these discussions can help institutions, governments, and individuals navigate the pandemic.
Objective:
The aim of this study is to analyze discussions on Twitter related to COVID-19 and to investigate the sentiments toward COVID-19.
Meth...
BACKGROUND
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic led to substantial public discussion. Understanding these discussions can help institutions, governments, and individuals navigate the pandemic.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to analyze discussions on Twitter related to COVID-19 and to investigate the sentiments toward COVID-19.
METHODS...
Objective:
Despite the well-established association between SRH and health, little is known about the potential psychobiological mechanisms responsible for such links, and if these associations differ by age. The main goals of this study were to investigate the links between SRH and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), if age moderated the risk, and t...
Knowledge of breast cancer genetics is critical for those at increased hereditary risk who must make decisions about breast cancer screening options. This descriptive study explored theory-based relationships among cognitive and emotional variables related to knowledge of breast cancer genetics in cancer families. Participants included first-degree...
Eating disorder literature often overlooks those exhibiting eating and body image concerns without an eating disorder diagnosis. Supportive spouses may ameliorate negative body image and eating behavior, but spouses who exhibit both supportive and non-supportive behaviors concurrently (ambivalent) may send mixed messages. Eating disorder behaviors...
Genetic test results have important implications for close family members. Indeterminate negative results are the most common outcome of BRCA1/2 mutation testing. Little is known about family members' understanding of indeterminate negative BRCA1/2 test results. The purpose of this mixed‐methods study was to investigate how daughters and sisters re...
Background
Marriage is associated with lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but quality matters. Marriages characterized by ambivalent behaviors (containing both highly positive and highly negative behaviors concurrently) may not confer the same cardiovascular benefits as characterized by purely positive behavior. Ambivalence is assumed to...
Ambivalent social ties, i.e., whereby a relationship is evaluated simultaneously in positive and negative terms, are a potential source of distress and can perturb health-relevant biological functions. Social interactions at the workplace, in particular with supervisors, are often described in ambivalent terms, but the psychological and psychobiolo...
Objective: Marriage is consistently associated with better health outcomes. Spouses' attempts to influence partners' lifestyle and general health behaviors may contribute to this effect, although partners may not be aware of this influence. Spousal worry of a cancer diagnosis for an at-risk partner may factor into attempts to influence. An examinat...
Objective
Human papillomavirus infects millions of men and women annually and is a substantial contributing factor in many cancers including oral, penile, anal, and cervical. Vaccination can reduce risk but adherence nationwide, and particularly in highly religious states, is suboptimal. Religious principles of abstinence before marriage and total...
Background
Social relationships, particularly marriage, have been shown to ameliorate the potentially pathogenic impact of stressful events but prior research has been mostly aimed at downstream effects, with less research on real-time reactivity. Pupillometry is an innovative procedure that allows us to see the effects of acute stress in real time...
Blood pressure and self-report correlations.
Note. Sbp = systolic blood pressure; Dbp = diastolic blood pressure; Hr = pulse rate; STAI = Spielberger state-trait anxiety scale; PT = perceived threat scale; PC = perceived challenge scale; POC = perceptions of control scale. * p < .05.
(DOCX)
This study examined the role of relationship quality on physical and psychological health among older adults. It included 2,298 adults aged 50 and older who participated in the Midlife in the US national longitudinal study of health and well-being. We assessed the effect of spousal support and strain on psychological and physical health, controllin...
Objective:
Job loss has a demonstrated negative impact on physical and mental health. Involuntary retirement has also been linked to poorer physical and mental health outcomes. This study examined whether late-career unemployment is related to involuntary retirement and health declines postretirement.
Method:
Analysis was conducted using the 200...
Paid work forms a pattern of occupational engagement that shifts during both unemployment and retirement. Similar to unemployment, the occupational disruption associated with involuntary retirement has been linked to poorer physical and mental health outcomes. To better understand the health impact of work transitions during the pre- and post-retir...
There is a rich literature on social support and physical health, but research has focused primarily on the protective effects of social relationship. The stress buffering model asserts that relationships may be protective by being a source of support when coping with stress, thereby blunting health relevant physiological responses. Research also i...
The shared social context created in a marriage may be important in motivating engagement in health behaviors, but spousal influence may not be uniformly applied. Our goal was to examine how spouses discuss health behaviors relevant for colorectal cancer (CRC) risk-reduction to better understand how spouses exert or fail to exert influence. In this...
Background
Understanding the pathways by which interventions achieve behavioral change is important for optimizing intervention strategies. PurposeWe examined mediators of behavior change in a tailored-risk communication intervention that increased guideline-based colorectal cancer screening among individuals at increased familial risk. Methods
Par...
Objective:
Unemployment among older adults during recessionary cycles has been tied to early retirement decisions and negative health outcomes. This study explored episodes of unemployment experienced between age 50 and retirement as predictors of retirement age and health outcomes.
Methods:
A total of 1540 participants from the U.S. Health and...
The prevalence and chronic nature of arthritis make it the most common cause of disability among U.S.A adults. Family support reduces the negative impact of chronic conditions generally but its role in pain and depression for arthritic conditions is not well understood. A total of 844 males (35.0%) and 1567 females (65.0%) with arthritic conditions...
Objectives: Depression is a major health risk factor among the older population, related to significant increases in total per person health care expenditures. Prior studies have shown significant regional variations in some clinical conditions. However, there has not been any study examining depressive symptoms across regions. The purpose of this...
Objective:
Based in interpersonal theory, the present study tested associations of trait affiliation (i.e., warmth vs. hostility) and control (i.e., dominance vs. submissiveness) with ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and momentary affective experiences.
Methods:
Ninety-four married couples (mean age 29.6) completed trait affiliation and control m...
Background:
Socioeconomic status is robustly associated with rates of death and disease. Psychophysiological stress processes are thought to account for a portion of this association.
Purpose:
Although positive and supportive relationships can buffer psychophysiological stress responses, no studies have examined whether the quality of a primary...
The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) has been effectively used to promote healthy behaviors, but less is known about the effectiveness of the EPPM in promoting screening adherence in individuals at familial risk for colorectal cancer (CRC). The original EPPM model posits that an additive relationship exists between the constructs perceived se...
Relatives of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients are at increased risk for the disease, yet screening rates still remain low. Guided by the Extended Parallel Process Model, we examined the impact of a personalized, remote risk communication intervention on behavioral intention and colonoscopy uptake in relatives of CRC patients, assessing the original...
Marriage decreases cardiovascular morbidity although relationship quality matters. While some marriages contain highly positive aspects (supportive), marriages may also simultaneously contain both positive and negative aspects (ambivalent). Individuals whose spouses or own behavior is ambivalent may not experience the same cardiovascular-protective...
The past decade has witnessed rapid advances in human genome sequencing technology and in the understanding of the role of genetic and epigenetic alterations in cancer development. These advances have raised hopes that such knowledge could lead to improvements in behavioral risk reduction interventions, tailored screening recommendations, and treat...
Objective:
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and difficulties in intimate relationships. Greater frequency and severity of couple conflict and greater cardiovascular reactivity to such conflict might contribute to CHD risk in those with PTSD, but affective and physiological respo...
Prior studies report that couples with higher relationship quality show higher oxytocin (OT) levels, yet other studies report those with higher distress have increased OT. This study investigated these competing predictions in the context of a support enhancement intervention among 34 young married couples (N = 68). Preintervention marital quality...
Background/aims:
This study explored the interest in genomic testing for modest changes in colorectal cancer risk and preferences for receiving genomic risk communications among individuals with intermediate disease risk due to a family history of colorectal cancer.
Methods:
Surveys were conducted on 272 men and women at intermediate risk for co...
Objective:
Social support is a reliable predictor of cardiovascular health. According to the buffering hypothesis, stress is 1 mechanism by which support is able to affect physiological processes. However, most of the experimental evidence for the hypothesis comes from laboratory studies. Ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) protocols examine participa...
The American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) is a professional society for multi-disciplinary investigators in cancer prevention and control. The ASPO Junior Members Interest Group promotes the interests of predoctoral, postdoctoral, and junior faculty members within the Society, and provides them with career development and training opportun...
Although the quality of one's own social relationships has been related to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, whether a partner's social network quality can similarly influence one's cardiovascular risk is unknown. In this study we tested whether the quality of a partner's social networks influenced one's own ambulatory blood pressure (ABP).
T...
Objectives:
Although perceiving one's social ties as sources of ambivalence has been linked to negative health outcomes, the more specific contexts by which such relationships influence health remain less studied. We thus examined if perceived spousal relationship quality in three theoretically important contexts (i.e., support, capitalization, ev...
The strong association between family history and prostate cancer (PCa) suggests a significant genetic contribution, yet specific highly penetrant PCa susceptibility genes have not been identified. Certain single-nucleotide-polymorphisms have been found to correlate with PCa risk; however uncertainty remains regarding their clinical utility and how...
Epidemiological research suggests that different indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) such as income and education may have independent and/or interactive effects on health outcomes. In this study, we examined both simple and more complex associations (i.e., interactions) between different indicators of SES and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) d...
Close relationships have been linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. More research is needed, however, on the social and biological processes responsible for such links. In this study, we examined the role of relationship-based attitudinal processes (i.e., attitude familiarity and partner importance) on ambulatory blood pressure during d...
Perceived support has been related to lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the specific functional components of support responsible for such links. We tested if emotional, informational, tangible, and belonging support predicted ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and interpersonal interactions (e.g., responsive...
Objective:
Physiological effects of social evaluation are central in models of psychosocial influences on physical health. Experimental manipulations of evaluative threat evoke substantial cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses in laboratory studies, but only preliminary evidence is available regarding naturally occurring evaluative threats i...
Objectives:
The quality of one's personal relationships has been linked to morbidity and mortality across different diseases. As a result, it is important to examine more integrative mechanisms that might link relationships across diverse physical health outcomes. In this study, we examine associations between relationships and telomeres that pred...
Social support has been reliably related to lower rates of morbidity and mortality across a number of diseases. However, little is known about the more specific pathways and mechanisms responsible for such links. In this chapter, we argue that part of the link between social support and health is explained by immune-system alternations that, in tur...
The quality of one's personal relationships has been reliably linked to important physical health outcomes, perhaps through the mechanism of physiological stress responses. Most studies of this mechanism have focused on whether more conscious interpersonal transactions influence cardiovascular reactivity. However, whether such relationships can be...
Oxytocin (OT) activity increases in response to stress as well as to warm social contact. Subclinical depression is associated with higher stress but less reward from social contacts. The present investigation was intended to examine whether husbands and wives with high depressive symptomatology scores have increased plasma and salivary OT that may...
Background
Relationships have been linked to significant physical health outcomes. However, little is known about the more specific processes that might be responsible for such links.
Purpose
The main aim of this study was to examine a previously unexplored and potentially important form of partner knowledge (i.e., attitude familiarity) on relation...
Social support has been reliably related to better physical health outcomes. One influential model suggests that social support is related to lower cardiovascular disease mortality because it reduces the potentially deleterious consequences of cardiovascular reactivity during acute stress. However, received support and perceived support are separab...
In this meta-analytic review of 31 laboratory studies, we examined if relatively older adults showed lower or higher cardiovascular
reactivity compared with relatively younger adults. Results revealed that age was associated with lower heart rate reactivity
but higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity during emotionally evocative tasks. Cons...
Although there is substantial evidence that social relationships and marriage may influence both psychological and physical health, little is known about the influence of children.
This study examined the competing predictions regarding the directional influence of parental status and its interaction with gender-given that mothers are typically dis...
The quality and quantity of one's relationships have been reliably linked to morbidity and mortality. More recently, studies have focused on links between relationships and cardiovascular reactivity as a physiological mechanism via the stress-buffering hypothesis. However, not all social relationships are consistently positive which points to the i...
This study examined the influence of relationship-specific dimensions of social support (i.e., support, depth, conflict) on nocturnal blood pressure (BP) dipping and mental health (i.e., satisfaction with life, stress, and depression) among 303 normotensive and un-medicated hypertensive males and females ages 20–68. Results revealed that support wa...
To investigate whether a support intervention (warm touch enhancement) influences physiological stress systems that are linked to important health outcomes. Growing evidence points to a protective effect of social and emotional support on both morbidity and mortality.
In this study, 34 healthy married couples (n = 68), aged 20 to 39 years (mean = 2...
Having close social relationships and being married specifically have been reliably associated with health benefits including lower morbidity and mortality.
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of marital status, relationship quality, and network support on measures of psychological and cardiovascular health.
We examined ambulator...
The quality and quantity of one's relationships have been reliably linked to morbidity and mortality. More recently, studies have focused on links between relationships and cardiovascular reactivity as a physiological mechanism via the stressbuffering hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that social support moderates or buffers the impact of stress...
Projects
Projects (2)
To explore COVID-19 mitigation strategies
Study 1: Protecting healthcare workers amid the COVID-19 crisis: A successful safety protocol that resulted in zero infection
Study 2: Ischemic Necrosis of Lower Extremity in COVID-19: A Case Report
Study 3: In an era of uncertainty: Impact of COVID-19 on dental education
Study 4: Men and Covid-19: A Review
Study 5: COVID-19 lockdown: Impact on college students’ lives
Study 6: Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 infection
Study 7: COVID-19 Social network sentiment analysis
Children (7-17 years old) with a mild brain injury such as a concussion during sports will complete several computer based attention tasks. A portion of participants will be scanned with out on-site MRI machine.