David Sbarra

Professor, Clinical

Director, Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine Minor

EOS Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Psychology

Director, Laboratory for Social Connectedness & Health (LSCH)

Psychology 264

Links

Research Interests:

Social relationships and health, as well as stress and health - including: divorce, marital separation, loneliness.
Genetically-informed research – including: twin studies, polygenic risk scores, and Mendelian Randomization
Quantitative methods for the analysis of change
Open science

Updated: 07/25/25

Selected Publications:

Bourassa, K. J. & Sbarra, D. A. (2024). Trauma, adversity, and biological aging: Behavioral mechanisms relevant to treatment and theory. Translational Psychiatry, 14, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-024-03004-9
Sbarra, D.A., Ramadan, F.A., Choi, K.W., Treur, J.L., Levey, D.F., Wootton, R.E., Stein, M.B., Gelernter, J., & Klimentidis, Y.C. (2023). Loneliness and depression: Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization analyses using data from three large genome-wide association studies. Molecular Psychiatry, 28, 4594-4601.
Manvelian, A., Boyd, S., O’Hara, K. L., Watters, C., Liu, Y., & Sbarra, D. A. (2023). Promoting attachment security during the transition to college: A pilot study of emotionally focused mentoring. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 42, 4075-4101
Whisman, M. A., Sbarra, D. A., & Beach, S. R. (2021). Intimate relationships and depression: Searching for causation in the sea of association. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 17, 223-258. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-081219-103323.
Holt-Lunstad, J., Robles, T.F., & Sbarra, D.A. (2017). Advancing social connection as a public health priority in the United States. American Psychologist, 72, 517-530.

Courses Taught:

*Year listed indicates when this individual last taught the specified course.

Updated: 07/25/25