Kate Leger | University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences

Kate Leger

Associate Professor

I will consider applications for new PhD students for Fall 2026

My research examines how people’s emotional responses to daily stressors shape their long-term physical health

across the adult life span. I am particularly interested in the effects of emotions that linger after a stressor is over. My work examines potential biological (e.g. cardiovascular) and behavioral (e.g. sleep) pathways that link emotional responses to stress and health. Additionally, I investigate individual differences in emotional responses to daily stressors in an effort to identify who is most vulnerable to the negative effects of stress and identify interventions that promote healthy aging. I use a multi-method approach, using both naturalistic longitudinal designs and lab-based studies to assess physical health as a life-long process that is influenced by a culmination of emotional experiences to daily events.

Are you an undergraduate looking for research experience? Undergrads interested in working in the Emotion, Stress, and Health Lab should complete an application through the link on the right side of this page.

Contact Information

kate.leger@uky.edu

012-I Kastle Hall

859-257-6154

Education

B.A., Psychology, Carleton College, 2010
M.A., Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 2015
Ph.D., Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 2018

Research Interests

Emotional responses to daily stressors
Pathways linking daily stressors and long-term health
Individual differences in emotional responses to stress

Affiliations

Psychology
Developmental, Social, and Health Psychology
Health, Society and Populations

Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Research Assistant Application

Research

Selected Publications

Selected Publications:

Leger, K.A., Charles, S.T., Brown, C.J., & Fingerman, K.L. (Accepted). Physical activity and daily stress processes in older adulthood. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

Leger, K.A., Gloger, E.M., Crawford, L.R., McDade, T.W., & Segerstrom, S.C. (Accepted). Sleep variability and inflammation in midlife and older women. Psychosomatic Medicine.

Cross, M.P., Acevedo, A.M., Leger, K.A., & Pressman, S.D. (2022). How and why could smiling influence physical health? A conceptual review. Health Psychology Review. Advanced online publication.

Leger, K.A., Gloger, E. M., Maras, J., & Marshburn, C. K. (2022). Discrimination and health: The mediating role of daily stress processes. Health Psychology, 41, 332-340.

Ong, A.D. & Leger, K.A. (2022). Advancing the study of resilience to daily stressors. Perspectives on Psychological Science. Advanced Online Publication

Leger, K.A., Lee, S., Chandler, K.D., & Almeida, D.M. (2022). Effects of a workplace intervention on daily stressors and well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 27, 152-160.

Acevedo, A.M., Leger, K.A, Jenkins, B.N. & Pressman, S.D. (2022). Keep calm or get excited? Examining the effects of different types of positive affect on responses to acute pain. Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-10.

Leger, K.A., Turiano, N.A., Bowling, W., Burris, J.L., & Almeida, D.M. (2021). Personality Traits Predict Long-term Physical Health Via Affect Reactivity to Daily Stressors. Psychological Science. Advanced Online Publication

Segerstrom, S. C., Blevins, T. R., Leger, K. A., Reed, R. G., & Crofford, L. J. (2021). Eudaemonic Well-Being in Midlife Women: Change in and Correspondence Between Concurrent and Retrospective Reports. Collabra: Psychology.

Haynes, E. N., Hilbert, T. J., Westneat, S. C., Leger, K.A., Keynton, K., & Bush, H. M. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 Shutdown on Mental Health in Appalachia by Working Status. Journal of Appalachian Health, 3, 18-28.

Tsukerman, D. Leger, K.A., & Charles, S.T. (2020). Work-family spillover stress predicts health outcomes across two decades. Social Science and Medicine. Advanced Online Publication

Leger, K.A., Blevins, T., Crawford, L., & Segerstrom, S.C. (2020). Mean levels and variability in psychological well-being and its associations with sleep in midlife and older women. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. Advanced Online Publication

Huo, M. Ng, Y.T., Fuentecilla, J., Leger, K.A., & Charles, S.T. (2020). Positive Encounters as a Buffer: Older Adults’ Pain and Sleep Disturbances in Everyday Life. Journal of Aging and Health. Advanced Online Publication

Leger, K.A., & Charles, S.T. (2020). Affective recovery from stress and its associations with sleep. Stress and Health, 36, 693-699.

Leger, K.A., Charles, S.T., & Almeida, D.M. (2020). Positive emotions experienced on days of stress are associated with less same day and next day negative emotion. Affective Science, 1, 20-27.

Leger, K.A., Charles, S.T., & Fingerman, K. L. (2019). Affect variability and sleep: Emotional ups and downs are related to a poorer night’s rest. Psychosomatic Research, 124, 109758.

Charles, S.T., Mogle, J., Leger, K.A., & Almeida, D.M. (2019). Age and the factor structure of emotional experience in adulthood. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 74, 419-429.

Leger, K.A., Charles, S.T., & Almeida, D.M. (2018). Let it go: lingering negative affect in response to daily stressors can impact physical health years later. Psychological Science, 29, 1283-1290.

Leger, K.A., Charles, S.T., Turiano, N. & Almeida, D.M. (2016). Personality and stressor-related affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,111, 917-928

Leger, K.A., Charles, S.T., Ayanian, J.Z., & Almeida, D.M. (2015). The associations of daily physical symptoms with future health. Social Science & Medicine, 143, 241-248.