Research Focus

My research focuses on anxiety, stress/trauma, and interpersonal relationships, with a particular focus on romantic relationships in which one individual has experienced a trauma. I examine individual and interpersonal effects of trauma, stress, and anxiety – I also examine factors that impact people’s reactions to stress and trauma. I have extensive experience working with military service members/veterans and their families.

Current Projects

■ In collaboration with researchers outside Mason, I recently completed data collection regarding PTSD and family functioning from more than 250 Army couples over 11⁄2 to 2 years, with 5 separate time points.

■ I have partnered with Farrokh Alemi in Health Informatics on a proposal to use “big data” to analyze suicide risk in veterans, drawing on data from VAs across the country, with a particular focus on antidepressant prescription patterns.

■ I have partnered with Christy Esposito-Smythers in PSYC on a project researching dissemination and implementation through a training institute for Fairfax County mental health workers. This is a 2.5-year project that involves training for work with adolescents (Year 1), children (Year 2), and adults (Year 3).

■ I have several additional projects in collaboration with doctoral students underway or recently completed, including a daily diary study (14 days of nightly surveys) of symptoms and interpersonal interactions from veterans with PTSD and couples, an in-depth study of risk and resilience related to everyday functioning in veterans with PTSD symptoms, a study of parenting as impacted by PTSD in military couples, and a laboratory-based study of communication community couples.

Select Publications

■ S. B. Campbell & K. D. Renshaw, Posttraumatic stress disorder and relationship functioning: a comprehensive review and organizational framework. Clinical Psychology Review 65, 152-162 (2018).

■ K. D. Renshaw & S. B. Campbell, Deployment-related benefit finding and postdeployment marital satisfaction in military couples. Family Process 56, 915-925 (2017).

■ S. B. Campbell et al., A daily diary study of posttraumatic stress disorder and romantic partner accommodation. Behavior Therapy 48, 222-234 (2017).

■ K. D. Renshaw, Partners’ attributions for service members’ symptoms of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Behavior Therapy 45, 187-198 (2014).