Dr. Turan’s research focuses on psychosocial influences on health and health disparities across the life span in two main areas:
Psycho-social Factors in Living with HIV: Dr. Turan examines how HIV-related stigma and discrimination — as well as other psycho-social factors — affect people living with HIV and people at risk for HIV. He also examines intersecting stigmas due to race, gender, sexual orientation, and poverty in order to understand and address disparities in physical and psychological health outcomes. His research includes biomarkers of stress (hair, blood, and saliva samples for cortisol and alpha amylase) and immune markers.
Negative and Positive Effects of Social Relationships: Dr. Turan examines the mechanisms underlying the association between social bonds and well-being. These include effects of social support and negative social evaluation on psychological and physical well-being (particularly hormonal responses including cortisol, testosterone, and alpha amylase reactivity).
For more information, contact Dr. Turan at bturanb@uab.edu.
Research Lab
The Social Science Research Laboratory is broadly interested in the impact of social bonds on human health and well-being. Currently, the lab is measuring the effects of stigma and discrimination on disease progression and medical adherence in populations living with or at risk for HIV.
The lab is proud of its commitment to interdisciplinary approaches to solving social and health issues, drawing on theory and methodologies from diverse fields such as psychology, neuroscience, public health, anthropology, and peace and conflict studies. The lab aims to blaze new trails in understanding the complex interactions between individuals’ social context and their health and well-being.
Stigma and other psycho-social factors in living with HIV; Effects of stress and negative social evaluation on biological markers of health, social support, and attachment security
