ROSE BERN, M.A.

she/her/hers
University of California, Davis
Email: rbern@ucdavis.edu

Research Interests: LGBTQ+ health, close relationships, community engagement

Rose is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Attraction and Relationships Lab. She graduated from the NYU Gallatin Individualized Studies program in 2018, where she broadly studied the intersection of love and human sexuality.

Rose’s research leverages large-scale, mixed-methods, and community-engaged projects to subvert cisheteronormative and mononormative paradigms in relationship science. She advances this goal by investigating how relationship processes (e.g., attachment, sexual dynamics, gendered labor) shape mental health and well-being among LGBTQ+ individuals in consensually nonmonogamous relationships (i.e., CNM configurations are mutually agreed arrangements that allow multiple romantic and/or sexual partnerships). Her work has investigated resilience-based mechanisms (i.e., attachment security, CNM identity pride) across multi-partner relational systems, while mapping the detrimental effects of stigma and inequitable labor distributions. Rose’s research program also aims to develop scalable, evidence-based strategies (e.g., inclusive pedagogical interventions) to reduce stigma and foster more affirming social environments for LGBTQ+ and CNM communities. Collectively, Rose’s multifaceted research program promotes relationship equity, sexual well-being, and psychological flourishing across marginalized LGBTQ+ and CNM communities.

Rose spends her finite free time inhaling dangerous amounts of bread and cheese and subsequently cozying up with her electric blanket and a good show (probably something by Michael Schur). She also loves tiny, furry creatures and will soon adopt a hamster named Abrahamster Maslow.