IARR 2025 Mini-Conference


Uxbridge, England on July 31-August 3, 2025!


On behalf of the Centre for Culture and Evolution (CCE) within the College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences (CHMLS) at Brunel University of London, we are pleased to present a themed mini-conference of the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) on the topic of “Gender, Sexuality, and Relationships” (Thursday, 31 July-Sunday, 3 August 2025). This mini-conference will be the first major event by IARR that focuses squarely upon the ways in which gender and sexuality are reflected in relationship processes. We are particularly interested in work that explores the ways that gender and sexuality are expressed, are shaped by, and themselves shape relationship processes, dynamics, and outcomes. Nevertheless, we are open to submissions on a range of relationship-related subjects.

We will host a New Scholars Workshop on the first day of the mini-conference. The workshop will be planned by the IARR Mentorship Committee. Although the workshop will be especially useful for newer and younger relationship scientists, we welcome participation from conference attendees at all stages in their careers.

Accommodations
Hotel accommodations: Attendees will be responsible for booking their own accommodations (i.e., the conference organizers will not be able to pre-book rooms on behalf of attendees). Fortunately, the Lancaster Hotel (on campus) will be available for attendees and other customers during the conference dates in question. [Incidentally, attendees might wish to use the Lancaster Hotel as an unofficial gathering place throughout the mini-conference.] Moreover, several off-campus options are available; we recommend the Premier Inn Uxbridge Town Centre as one of those options.

Transportation: Brunel University of London is located in Uxbridge, which in turn is located within the West part of the Greater London Metropolitan area (known locally as “West London”). The conference location is five miles from Heathrow International Airport, accessible via the local U3 bus service that runs from Heathrow Bus Station to Uxbridge Town Centre (with a stop at Brunel on Cleveland Road in Uxbridge). The U3 bus runs approximately every 10-15 minutes from early morning until midnight.

In turn, within Uxbridge town centre, one will find a variety of shops and services, including the Piccadilly and Metropolitan Lines on the London Underground (i.e., “the Tube”) that offer multiple runs to Central London (arriving to and from Uxbridge within one hour). Overall, with an on-campus location that is “off the beaten track” of Central London (yet accessible to Central London via a one-hour train ride, as mentioned above), the locale is likely to foster sustained communication among students, newly minted scholars, and established professionals alike.

Activities
No specific activities have been scheduled during the conference. However, London & Partners (i.e., the London Convention Bureau) will provide detailed and up-to-date information regarding entertainment and attractions in and around the Central London area during the dates of the proposed mini-conference (especially Sunday, 3 August – the designated “open day” for the mini-conference).

CHAIRS

Stanley Gaines

Local Arrangements Subcommittee
Co-Chair
Brunel University of London

Dr. Stanley O. Gaines, Jr. is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Brunel University of London (UK). Dr. Gaines received the IARR Book Award in 2018 and served as IARR President from 2022 to 2024. Dr. Gaines has published more than 100 scholarly publications, including several books on personality psychology and/or close relationships. Dr. Gaines’s research interests span the fields of cultural psychology and relationship science, reflecting his training in social psychology as well as his primary focus on individual differences in interpersonal behavior within the context of close relationships.

Lora Adair

Local Arrangements Subcommittee
Co-Chair
Brunel University of London

Dr. Lora Adair is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Brunel University of London (UK) and leads the Gender, Sexuality, and Relationships research theme in the Centre for Culture and Evolution (CCE). Dr. Adair uses feminist evolutionary approaches to explore how romantic, sexual, and reproductive experiences are shaped by social forces. Her research is highly engaged with the West London and broader UK community, through advisory work and research partnerships with clinics, charities, businesses, and other organizations, particularly those involved in women's healthcare.

Bruna Da Silva Nascimento

Program Committee
Co-Chair
University of Bristol

Dr. Bruna Nascimento (Lecturer in Psychology, University of Bristol). Dr Nascimento’s research focuses on understanding individual and cultural predictors of relationship outcomes, with a particular focus on relationship satisfaction, and conflict between intimate partners. For example, Dr. Nascimento is interest in understanding how individual aspects such as attachment styles interact with the cultural context to influence adaptive mechanisms (e.g., relationship maintenance, conflict resolution) within the context of relationships, and their influence on relationship satisfaction. Dr. Nascimento often applies a quantitative approach in her research, using surveys and experiments. Dr. Nascimento earned her PhD in Psychology from the University of Bath (UK, 2019).

Katarzyna Adamczyk

Program Committee
Co-Chair
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań

Dr. Katarzyna Adamczyk is an Associate Professor in Psychology at Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland). Her primary research focuses on exploring the determinants, correlates, and life outcomes of adult singlehood. Currently, she is examining singlehood from the perspective of ambiguous loss, the role of religion in single people's lives, and the experience of singlehood among disabled individuals. She also serves the community - since 2022, she has served as a Chair of the IARR Future Conferences Committee, Assistant Editor of Emerging Adulthood, and since 2024 as, an Associate Editor of Journal of Community Psychology.

SUBMISSIONS


We anticipate that the submissions portal will open soon. Potential presenters will be able to submit their abstracts from that date until approximately mid-December, 2024. We anticipate that acceptances/rejections will be communicated to authors around mid-January, 2025.

Submit your abstract soon.

Call for submissions (opening soon): Our theme for the 2025 mini-conference is Gender, Sexuality, and Relationships. Accordingly, we welcome submissions that explore gender and sexuality as central constructs in theories and research on relationship processes (e.g., developments in the assessment of gender and sexuality, explorations of how gender and sexuality are shaped by sociocultural forces, including colonization). Please note that we will consider proposals that address diversity-related issues other than (or in addition to) gender and sexuality, keeping in mind that we will maintain our focus on gender and sexuality as relevant to social and personal relationship processes. While we are especially interested in scholarship that centres gender and sexuality, we welcome submissions that are relevant to relationships and relationship processes more generally.

For single submissions, submitters are asked to create a short abstract between 100-150 words and a longer abstract for evaluation purposes between 300-500 words. Submitters should indicate their preferences for an oral presentation, poster, or data blitz (details below).

For symposium submissions, in addition to abstracts for each included paper, an additional short and long abstract to summarize all of the presentations and their connections should be included.

Single Presentation: 15-minute individual oral presentation. Your research will be grouped with three to four other presentations with a similar topic by the conference organizers.

Poster: One-on-one opportunity to interact with a visual presentation. Poster format details will be provided later and will be similar to other IARR conferences.

*Posters should be a maximum of 48 inches (width) by 36 inches (height).

Data Blitz: Five-minute oral presentation. You will be grouped with approximately 6 to 10 other presenters for an engaging and fast-paced survey of research across different topics.

Symposium: Three to five 15-minute oral presentations organized around a theme. The Chair of the symposium will be asked to submit on behalf of all of its members (i.e., for the Chair, it involves gathering presentation information from members ahead of time).

Submission deadline: Approximately mid-January 2025

KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS


The conference is pleased to feature the following three keynote speakers.

Dr. David Schmitt

"Romantic Relationship Quality around the World: Revealing the Culture-Bound Intersections of Gender, Orientation, and Relational Outcomes across 58 Nations"
Kansas State University, USA

David P. Schmitt received his Ph.D. in personality psychology from the University of Michigan in 1995. He currently serves as Department Head of Psychological Sciences at Kansas State University. Dr. Schmitt is Founding Director of the International Sexuality Description Project, an interdisciplinary research collaboration involving 100s of psychologists, biologists, and anthropologists from over 60 countries who seek to understand how culture, gender, and personality combine to influence sexual health and relationship quality. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 articles on how diverse intersections of gender/sex, gender roles, and sexual orientations impact mental health differently all around the world.

Dr. Rozzana Sánchez Aragón

“Culture and Sexuality: Effects and Differences between Young and Mature Women”
National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico

Rozzana Sánchez Aragón completed her bachelor's, master's and doctoral studies at the National Autonomous University of Mexico where she has been a full-time professor in the area of ​​Social Psychology for 30 years. She teaches courses in Social Psychology and Research Methodology. She has participated in 12 funded projects, presented 751 papers and 83 keynote lectures. Her research work has allowed her to publish 120 articles, 162 book chapters and 8 books. She is a member of the National System of Researchers, obtained the Distinction for Young Researchers at her university and was the Chair of the Membership and International Committee of the IARR.

Dr. Ashley Randall

“Heeding a Global Call: Elevating the Voices of Minoritized Sexual and Gender Diverse Individuals in Relationship Science”
Arizona State University, USA

Dr. Ashley K. Randall is an internationally recognized scholar who applies a strength-based perspective and international lens to identify ways in which couples cope with experiences of stress. She is President-Elect of IARR and the recent past Editor-in-Chief of Personal Relationships. Additionally, she has served as a Fulbright Fellow (Switzerland, 2007) and Fulbright Specialist (Indonesia, 2023) and is a visiting professor with College Year in Athens, Greece. Dr. Randall holds Fellow status in the American Psychological Association’s Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology), Division 43 (Society for Couple and Family Psychology), and Division 52 (International Psychology).

REGISTRATION


Registration information coming soon...

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

IARR 2026 MAIN CONFERENCE

Ceud Mìle Fàilte (A Hundred Thousand Welcomes). The IARR 2026 Main Conference will be held Thursday, July 30 to Monday, August 3 in Glasgow, Scotland! The city of Glasgow is just four hours by train from London and a major airline hub served by three international airports. Gateway to the Scottish Highlands and less than an hour by train from Edinburgh, Glasgow is a highly desirable destination for those wishing to tour parts of Scotland prior to or after the conference. Equally important, Glasgow itself boasts a rich architectural heritage, award-winning (and free!) museums, and a vibrant arts and cultural scene (e.g., it is home to the Scottish Opera, the Scottish Ballet, and the National Theatre of Scotland). The conference will be held in the Technology and Innovation Centre at the University of Strathclyde. The University of Strathclyde is a 10-minute walk from major rail stations and just five minutes from City Hall, shopping at Merchant City, and numerous restaurants and accommodation options amenable to all budgets.

CONTACT INFORMATION

A memorable stay at Brunel University of London

Questions, comments, and concerns can be directed to one of the conference organizers below.

The International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) is an interdisciplinary organization that strives to (a) promote advances in the scientific study of personal and social relationships, and (b) encourage collaboration among students, new scholars and experienced scholars.

Hotel Information

Lancaster Hotel
Kingston Lane
Uxbridge, Middlesex
UB8 3PH
P: 01895 268006
E: lancaster-suite@brunel.ac.uk

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