Faculty Facilitator: Stephanie Cook, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics
The Attachment and Health Disparities Lab (AHDL) is dedicated to understanding the complex relationship between stress, social determinants of health, and health outcomes. Guided by Dr. Cook’s integrated theory of adult attachment and minority stress, the lab investigates how social stressors influence health and well-being. These stressors, referred to as minority stress, can exacerbate health risks for those with potentially vulnerable social statuses, impacting mental and physical health outcomes beyond what is typically experienced by the general population. The effects of different stressors among potentially vulnerable populations is poorly understood and thus AHDL aims to address this limitation by studying how structural, environmental, spatial, and daily stressors experienced by individuals impact health and health behaviors.
In the AHDL lab we also develop statistical models that examine the associations between social determinants of health, stress, and various health outcomes. By exploring how attachment orientation interacts with social stress and health, our research seeks to identify the pathways and mechanisms that drive disparities, particularly at the intersection of multiple potentially vulnerable statuses. This work is crucial for developing effective interventions and policies to address health inequities in populations that are disproportionately affected by stress and social disadvantage.