ABCT Annual Convention

The Couples SIG hosts events at ABCT every year. The next conference will be held in Philadelphia, PA on November 14-17, 2024. 

Here is the convention's call for abstracts: https://www.abct.org/convention-ce/call-for-abstracts/

• Abstract submission opens: February 8, 2024
• Submission site closes: March 14, 2024

The 2023 convention was held in Seattle on November 16-19, 2023. 

Couples SIG-specific events for the 2023 convention: 

• Couples SIG Preconference: Couples/Relationship Work Beyond the Ivory Tower
  • When: Thursday, 11/16 from 6:30pm-8:00pm PST
  • Details: The purpose of this event was to discuss different career paths and additional income opportunities outside of traditional academic positions. The panel was composed of an esteemed group of researchers, clinicians, business owners, and entrepreneurs.
•  SIG Business Meeting
  • When: Friday, 11/17 from 4:00-5:30pm PST
• There were also sessions about couples and related topics throughout the convention.

Congratulations to the Undergraduate Student Research awardee – Kaitlyn McCarthy, as well as, Graduate Student Research awardees, Jenna Rice (first prize)  and Alexandra Wojda (second prize), for their exceptional poster submissions!

• Kaitlyn McCarthy, now at Eastern Michigan University, for the work she completed as an undergraduate at Binghamton University with Christina Balderrama-Durbin, “Partner Pronoun Use Predicts Negative Affect and Perceived Partner Support Following an Acute Stress Induction in Romantic Relationships”
• Jenna Rice, Clark University Cordova Lab, “The case for code words: The influence of relationship pattern labeling on intimacy, acceptance, and relationship satisfaction in couples’ relationships”
• Alexandra Wojda, UNC Chapel Hill Baucom Lab, “Understanding the association between household income and relationship behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic”

Previous graduate student winners include:  Chelsea Carson and Danielle Weber (2020), Erin Ramsdell and Danielle Weber (2019), Alexandra Wojda (2018), Katie Lenger and Joel Sprunger (2017), Kayla Knopp and Melanie Fischer (2016), Dev Crasta and Roanne Millman (2015), Dev Crast and Emily Georgia (2014)

Previous undergraduate student winners include:  Kaitlyn McCarthy (2020), Briana Lee Schubert (2019), Shayla Weiser (2018)

Instructions to applicants and nominators: Graduate and undergraduate students planning to apply to graduate student in psychology or a related field who identify as members of groups that are underrepresented in academia are invited to apply for the Couples Special Interest Group (Couples SIG) of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Underrepresented Scholars Fund. Applications may also be submitted on behalf of students by faculty advisors and/or mentors. Groups considered to be underrepresented in academia vary across funding agencies (e.g., NIH, NSF, the Ford Foundation, etc.) and stages of professional development (e.g., graduate school applications, FAFSA, Higher Education Act, etc.). The intent of this fund is to define underrepresented broadly based on, but not limited to, racial/ethnic identity, sex, gender, sexual identity, first generation college student status, and socioeconomic background. If you have any questions about whether you are eligible, please contact the chair of the Underrepresented Scholars Fund. This fund is intended to support the professional development of underrepresented scholars who plan to conduct research on romantic relationships and/or provide relationship-based psychotherapeutic services in their careers. 

Questions about the application should be directed to the chair of the Couples SIG Underrepresented Scholars Fund, Brian Baucom (brian.baucom@psych.utah.edu), and/or to the Couples SIG Co-Presidents. Please complete the application and return it to Brian Baucom via email.

The Underrepresented Scholars Fund application deadline is TBD.  Please fill out the application below and send it to brian.baucom@utah.edu to be considered.