Dana Weiser, Ph.D.

Research Focus

My program of research mainly focuses on how family experiences shape adults' relationship experiences and sexual behaviors. My work explores how parents communicate and model behaviors which later influence individuals as they enter their own relationships and become sexually active. I study how and what families teach us about infidelity, sexual health, and sexual violence as well as predictors of and reactions to infidelity. I also examine the role of self-efficacy in personal relationships and along with colleagues developed the Self-Efficacy in Romantic Relationships (SERR) measure. My work utilizes a variety of perspectives, including feminist theories and social cognitive theory. I am an active faculty affiliate in the Women’s and Gender Studies program.

Areas of Expertise

• Intergenerational relationship patterns
• Infidelity
• Self-efficacy development
• Human sexuality
• Sexual violence

Selected Publications

Weiser, D. A., Knopik, V. S., Horn, S.S., Kirkorian, H. L., Lefkowitz, E. S., Lohman, B. J., Russell, S. T., Stein, G. L., Swanson, D. P., & Wittenborn, A. K. (2025).Unifying Human Development and Family Science: Navigating identity challenges in higher education. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 17(1), 29-42. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12607 Invited commentary for special issue on Theorizing Academia: Critical and Futuristic Perspectives.

Weiser, D. A., & Shrout, M. R. (2024). Revisiting the charmed circle: A reflexive examination of unanswered questions in the infidelity literature. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(7), e12983. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12983

Walsh, B.A., & Weiser, D.A. (2024). Introduction to Human Development and Family Science (Second Edition). Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.

Shrout, M. R., Wilson, S. J., Farrell, A., Rice, T., Weiser, D. A., Novak, J. R., & Monk, J. K. (2024). Dyadic, biobehavioral, and sociocultural approaches to romantic relationships and health: Implications for research, practice, and policy. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(2), e12943. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12943

Payne, P. B., Mitchell, S. N., Lopez, C., DeCount, T., Shrout, M. R., Russell, K. N., Weigel, D. J., Evans, W., & Weiser, D. A. (2024). Young adults’ perceptions of morality based messages with parents about sex: An exploratory study. Family Relations, 73(2), 935-956. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12942

Weiser, D. A., Shrout, M. R., Thomas, A. V., Edwards, A. L., & Cravens Pickens, J. (2023). “I’ve been cheated, been mistreated, when will I be loved”: Two decades of infidelity research through an intersectional lens. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40, 856–898. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F02654075221113032

Borshuk, M., Lavigne, D. E., Sharp, E. A., Smith, J. E., Weiser, D. A., & Whitney, A.(2023). Red carpet radicals: Public feminist scholarship and the Sexism|Cinema film series.In A. Dove-Viebahn & C. Baker (Eds.). Public Feminisms: From Academy to Community. Amherst, MA: Lever Press.

Weiser, D. A., Lieway, M., Brown, R., Shrout, M. R., Russell, K., Weigel, D. J., & Evans, W. P. (2022). Parent communication about sexual and relationship violence: Promoting healthy relationships or reinforcing gender stereotypes? Family Relations, 71(1), 181-200. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12598

Weiser, D. A., & Weigel, D. J. (2017). Exploring intergenerational patterns of infidelity. Personal Relationships, 24, 933–952. doi.org/10.1111/pere.12222

Purcell, J. K., Oldham, C. R., Weiser, D. A., & Sharp, E. A. (2017). Lights, camera, activism: Community based film-series as response to campus sexual violence. Family Relations, 66, 139-153. doi.org/10.1111/fare.12228

Weiser, D. A. (2017). Confronting myths about sexual assault: A feminist analysis of the false report literature. Family Relations, 66, 44-60. doi.org/10.1111/fare.12235

Weiser, D. A., Weigel, D. J., Lalasz, C. B., & Evans, W. P. (2017). Family background and propensity to engage in infidelity. Journal of Family Issues, 38, 2083-2101. doi.org/10.1177/0192513X15581660

Weiser, D. A., Lalasz, C. B., Weigel, D. J., & Evans. W. P. (2014). A prototype analysis of infidelity. Personal Relationships, 21, 655-675. doi.org/10.1111/pere.12056

Links

Research Website:

Sexual Health, Infidelity, & Family Transmissions (SHIFT)

Research featured:

• http://www.dailytoreador.com/tech-professor-researching-relationships/article_fae78f02-3223-11e4-8ca7-001a4bcf6878.html
• http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2015/5/19/cheating-its-a-family-affair.html
• http://www.self.com/wellness/relationships/2015/07/will-he-cheat/