SMU Department of Psychology

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LECTURERS

ADJUNCT FACULTY

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Andrea Meltzer
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., University of Tennessee

TEL 214.768.3424
EMAIL ameltzer (add @smu.edu to all email addresses)
OFFICE Hyer Hall 310A
CURRICULUM VITAE click to view

RESEARCH SUMMARY

My research examines how intimate relationships affect individual health and how individual health affects intimate relationships. Because the prevalence of overweight and obese individuals is growing at an alarming rate, and because body weight is a significant predictor of a variety of health outcomes, one line of my research focuses on the role of intimate relationships in shaping body weight and vice versa. Through the use of large longitudinal studies of newlyweds, I work to understand the dyadic effects of numerous relationship factors (e.g., satisfaction, support) on physical health. A second line of my research examines the way health and markers of health, such as weight, sex, and physical appearance, affect intimate relationship functioning. Together, these lines of research can inform interventions aimed at maintaining physical health in the context of intimate relationships.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Meltzer, A. L., Novak, S., McNulty, J. K., Butler, E., & Karney, B. R. (in press). Brief report on marital satisfaction predicting weight gain in early marriage. Health Psychology.

Meltzer, A. L., McNulty, J. K., & Karney, B. R. (in press). Social support and weight maintenance in marriage: The interactive effects of support seeking, support provision, and gender. Journal of Family Psychology.

Howerton, D. M., Meltzer, A. L., & Olson, M. A. (2012). Honeymoon vacation: Sexual-orientation prejudice and inconsistent behavioral responses. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 34, 146-151.

Meltzer, A. L., McNulty, J. K., Novak, S. A., Butler, E. A., & Karney, B. R. (2011). Marriages are more satisfying when wives are thinner than their husbands. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 416-424.

Meltzer, A. L., & McNulty, J. K. (2010). Body image and marital satisfaction: Evidence for the mediating role of sexual frequency and sexual satisfaction. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 156-164.

Travis, C. B., Meltzer, A. L., & Howerton, D. M. (2009). Gender differences in health care utilization. In J. Chrisler & D. McCreary (Eds.), Handbook of Gender Research (pp. 517-540). New York: Springer.

Travis, C. B., & Meltzer, A. L. (2008). Women's health: Biological and social systems. In F. L. Denmark & M. A. Paludi (Eds.), Psychology of Women: A Handbook of Issues and Theories (2 ed., pp. 353-399). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers.