Two Persons Walking on a Grassy Field.
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FEELINGS MATTER.
ACTIVE STUDIES (AVAILABLE NOW!)
Relationship satisfaction across the lifespan
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End date: February 1, 2025
REB #28240
ABOUT THE LAB
The EHRL brings together a number of researchers interested in studying the development of emotional and social abilities (ESAs), as well as the relationship between ESAs and mental and physical health. The EHRL has several broad goals. The first is to promote research activities that may extend current knowledge about ESAs and health and wellness. We are particularly interested in work on the assessment of key constructs in this area (i.e., “alexithymia”, “emotional intelligence”, and “personal intelligence”). A second goal is to help train new researchers, educators and health care professionals. The third goal is to promote knowledge about ESAs among educators, health care professionals, and the general public. Relevant activities for this goal include publications in journals, presentations at academic meetings, articles in non-academic sources, and informal presentations to community or professional groups.
OUR WORK
OUR GRADUATE RESEARCHERS
A. Geoffrey Crane, MSc, PMP
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
GEOFF left a career in investment banking technology to pursue interests in psychology. Joining the lab in 2014 during his undergraduate degree, he stayed to complete a Master's in Applied Modelling and Quantitative Methods for which he won the President's Medal. Geoff has most recently joined Trent's Interdisciplinary Social Research (IDSR) program where has begun to focus on the personal intelligence construct and its implications for training and development.
Colin Henning, MSc
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
COLIN joined the Emotion and Health Research Laboratory (EHRL) in 2018 as a practicum student during the third year of his Bachelor's degree in Psychology and has been an active member of the lab ever since. Colin's research uses advanced statistical modelling techniques to evaluate psychometric tools, including measures of trait emotional intelligence, and examines relationships between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a variety of life success variables in adults.
Samantha van Rens, MSc
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
SAM completed her undergraduate degree at Trent in 2017 and returned in 2021 to complete her Master’s in the Applied Modelling and Quantitative Methods program, under the supervision of Dr. Parker. She is now working towards her PhD in Psychology. Her research interests include personality, test development, and various outcomes related to emotional, social, and motivational competencies.
Jeremy Barr, BScH
MSc Candidate
MSc Candidate
JEREMY is a salt-and-ginger husband and father of three. He joined the lab in 2023, when he started his Master’s in Applied Modelling. Jeremy has worked as a math teacher and has helped develop Ontario dental practices. He enjoys supporting organizations with developing their people and understanding their numbers. In his spare time, he spends time with his family, coaches, and plays soccer.
Maaike van Benthem, BScH
MSc Candidate
MSc Candidate
MAAIKE joined the Emotion and Health Laboratory in 2022 as a thesis student during the final year of her Bachelor of Science in Philosophy and Psychology. Maaike's research interests include structural equation modelling (SEM) as well as the multidimensional constructs of alexithymia, generativity, and schizotypy (or more specifically, absorption).
Amy van Elswyk, BScH
MSc Candidate
MSc Candidate
AMY first joined the lab in 2020 while completing her undergraduate Bachelor's in Forensics and Psychology. After a brief break which involved getting a grad certificate, she rejoined the lab in 2023 while working on her Master's in Applied Modelling and Quantitative Methods. Amy's interests include coping, criminal recidivism, and overall Emotional Intelligence in criminal populations.
OUR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS (2023-2024)
Honours Thesis Students
Shanzay Afzal
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
SHANZAY joined the lab in 2023. Her current research interests are the roles that alexithymia and personal intelligence (PI) play in same-sex relationship satisfaction. She aims provide therapeutic aid to minority groups as a Muslim, South Asian woman herself. Her hobbies include embroidery, making resin art and writing poetry.
Havanha Bondi
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
HAVANHA is currently completing her BAH in psychology. She has research interests in aggressive behaviours and which personality dimensions may best predict them. Her goal is to complete her PhD in a corresponding field and eventually become a criminal profiler. In Havanha’s spare time, she enjoys gardening and exploring botany.
Lucas Geeves
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
LUKE is a Psychology student in the teacher education stream. He joined the lab in the 2023/24 school year to do his thesis. He is interested in what variables predict couple satisfaction, such as personal intelligence, emotional and social competencies, and alexithymia. In his spare time, he writes and performs music, and loves to be in nature.
Brenda Kimberley
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
BRENDA is currently in the process of earning her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. Her research revolves around alexithymia and its impact on relationship satisfaction. Her goal is to complete her PhD and establish herself as a psychologist. During her free time, she can be found either at the CrossFit Gym or at her local cigar shop playing poker.
Practicum Students
Kayla Carman
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
KAYLA joined the lab in 2022 as an Honours Thesis student focusing on how factors such as age, gender, and relationship duration can potentially moderate the association between alexithymia and relationship satisfaction. Now in her last semester of her undergraduate degree in Psychology, she is completing a research practicum assisting in EHRL research.
Milo Ogar
BScH Candidate
BScH Candidate
MILO joined the lab in 2023 as a third-year practicum student in the honours psychology program. His interests include queer and gender studies and how emotional and personal intelligence can differ in minority groups. Milo is hoping to use this research to create a career in clinical psychology as a therapist or psychologist.
OUR ALUMNI
Amanda Gauthier
BScH, 2023
Jacob Persi
BScH, 2023
Gah-Lee Won
BScH, 2023
LAB UPDATES ON 
ABOUT DR. PARKER
Dr. James D.A. Parker is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Trent University (Ontario, Canada). He earned his Ph.D. in psychology from York University (Ontario) in 1991, and from 1991 to 1994 was a research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He held the Canada Research Chair in Emotion and Health at Trent University from 2002 to 2012.
Professor Parker has published over 200 journal articles and book chapters on a diverse range of topics connected to alexithymia, coping, emotional intelligence, personality and wellness. He is co-author of Disorders of Affect Regulation (1997) from Cambridge University Press, the co-editor of the Handbook of Emotional Intelligence (2000) published by Jossey-Bass, the co-editor of Assessing Emotional Intelligence (2009) published by Springer, and the co-editor of Emotional Intelligence in Education (2018) also published by Springer.
Professor Parker also co-developed several widely used assessment tools in the alexithymia, coping and emotional intelligence areas, such as the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), the Coping with Health Injuries and Problems Scale (CHIP), and the Youth Version of the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQi:YV), all published by Multi-Health Systems. He is co-author of the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research in 1994—the most widely used measure of alexithymia in the field.
CHALLENGE THE WAY YOU THINK
Trent University respectfully acknowledges it is located on the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg. We offer our gratitude to First Peoples for their care for, and teachings about, our earth and our relations. May we honour those teachings.
Trent University
Peterborough Campus
1600 West Bank Drive
Peterborough, ON Canada, K9L 0G2
Emotion and Health Research Laboratory
LHS/DNA C133, Department of Psychology
(705) 748-1011 x7644