Dr. Surra studies the development of marital and other romantic unions. Her research has examined how commitment evolves over time, the ways in which partners choose one another as mates, and the links between the selection process and the long-term health of relationships. In a recent survey, she was identified as one of the 25 most influential scholars in the field of personal relationships. Dr. Surra is a Faculty Affiliate of the Population Research Center. She has received grants from The National Institute of Mental Health and the United States Department of Agriculture. In 1998, she received the Teaching Excellence Award of the Department of Human Ecology. She was a founding board member, co-editor of the newsletter, and an officer of the International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships. Her work is published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Marriage and the Family, and numerous other journals. She served on the editorial board of the Journal of Marriage and the Family and was Chair of the Research and Theory Section of the National Council on Family Relations.

Selected Recent Publications:

Surra, C. A., Gray, C. R., Cottle, N., Boettcher, T. M. J., & Jarvis, M. O. (2004). Research on mate selection and premarital relationships: What do we really know? In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.), Handbook of Family Communication (pp. 53-82). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Perlman, D., & Surra, C. A. (2003, September). (Eds.). Special issue: Contextual influences on relationships. Personal Relationships, 10.

Surra, C. A., & Perlman, D. (in press). Introduction: The many faces of context. Personal Relationships, 10, 283-285.

Jacquet, S., & Surra, C. A. (2001). Parental divorce and premarital couples: Commitment and other relationship characteristics. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 627 - 638.

Ridley, C. A., Wilhelm, M. S., & Surra, C. A. (2001). Married couples’ conflict responses and marital quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 18, 517 - 534.

Surra, C. A., & Gray, C. R. (2000). A typology of processes of commitment to marriage: Why do partners commit to problematic relationships? In L. J. Waite, C. Bachrach, M Hindin, B. Thomson, & A. Thornton (Eds.), Ties that bind: Perspectives on marriage and cohabitation (pp. 253 - 280). New York: Aldine De Gruyter.

Hughes, D.K., & Surra, C.A. (2000). The reported influence of research participation on premarital relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 822 - 832.

Swim, T. J., & Surra, C.A. (1999). The role of gender in behavioral interdependence and relationship outcomes for premarital couples. Sex Roles, 41, 49-71.

Surra, C.A., Hughes, D. K., & Jacquet, S. (1999). The development of commitment to marriage: A phenomenological approach. In W. H. Jones & J. Adams (Eds.), The Handbook of Interpersonal Commitment and Relationship Stability (pp. 125 - 148). New York: Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers.

Return to HDFS Faculty Page