Human Affection Exchange: XIII. Affectionate Communication Accelerates Neuroendocrine Stress Recovery

Abstract

Contemporary theory in interpersonal communication and health psychology supports the prediction that engaging in affectionate behavior within established relationships has a direct effect on the alleviation of stress symptoms following exposure to an acute stressor. Participants in this study were exposed to a series of standard laboratory stressors and were subsequently assigned either to an experimental group or to 1 of 2 control groups. Those in the experimental group were instructed to write a letter to a loved one in which they expressed their feelings of affection for that person. Those in 1 control group thought about a loved one but did not engage in any communicative behavior, and those in the other control group simply sat quietly. All 3 conditions were compared with respect to their levels of salivary free cortisol, an adrenal steroid hormone that is instrumental in the body's neuroendocrine stress response. Results indicated that, compared to the control groups, those in the experimental group experienced accelerated cortisol recovery following exposure to the acute stressors.

Kissing in Marital and Cohabiting Relationships: Effects on Blood Lipids, Stress, and Relationship Satisfaction

“…In a later experiment, Floyd, Mikkelson, Tafoya, et al (2007) found that during episodes of acute stress (in which cortisol levels are typically elevated), expressing affection in writing to a loved one accelerates the return of cortisol to normal levels. Grewen et al (2005) similarly found that nonverbal affectionate interaction reduced cortisol levels for both men and women, and also elevated levels of the neurohypophyseal hormone oxytocin in women (see also Turner, Altemus, Enos, Cooper, & McGuinness, 1999), whereas Floyd, Hesse, and Haynes (2007) found a strong inverse relationship (b ¼ À .85) between expressed affection and glycohemoglobin (an index of average blood glucose level, which is elevated by stress), after controlling for the effects of received affection.…”

Testing a Mediational Model of Bullied Victims' Evaluation of Received Support and Post-Bullying Adaptation: A Japan-U.S. Cross-Cultural Comparison

“…The classic research program led by Pennebaker has convincingly demonstrated that selfdisclosure, particularly those concerning negative experiences, would improve one's mental and physical well-being (e.g., Pennebaker, Barger, & Tiebout, 1989;Spera, Buhrfeind, & Pennebaker, 1994). Recently, using a hormone-based bio-physiological methodology, Floyd and his associates found that expressing feelings in verbal forms not only reduced stress but also enhanced one's recovery from the distressed state of mind (Floyd, Mikkelson, Hesse, & Pauley, 2007;Floyd, Mikkelson, Tafoya, et al, 2007).…”

Helping hands, healthy body? Oxytocin receptor gene and prosocial behavior interact to buffer the association between stress and physical health

“…Helping or supporting others predicts reduced associations between stress and mortality (Krause, 2006;Okun et al, 2010;Poulin et al, in press) as well as depression (Brown et al, 2008). Laboratory research indicates that people respond to acute stress by increasing their prosocial behavior (von Dawans et al, in press), and that helping behavior reduces physiological response to stress (e.g., Floyd et al, 2007), raising the possibility that prosociality may serve as a coping strategy.…”