Touch as an Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Process in Couples’ Daily Lives

Abstract

Interpersonal touch seems to promote physical health through its effects on stress-sensitive parameters. However, less is known about the psychological effects of touch. The present study investigates associations between touch and romantic partners' affective state in daily life. We hypothesized that this association is established by promoting the recipient's experience of intimacy. Both partners of 102 dating couples completed an electronic diary 4 times a day during 1 week. Multilevel analyses revealed that touch was associated with enhanced affect in the partner. This association was mediated by the partner's psychological intimacy. Touch was also associated with intimacy and positive affect in the actor. Finally, participants who were touched more often during the diary study week reported better psychological well-being 6 months later. This study provides evidence that intimate partners benefit from touch on a psychological level, conveying a sense of strengthened bonds between them that enhances affect and well-being.

Social Touch in Human–Computer Interaction

“…Jones and Yarbrough (1985) stated that a handshake, an encouraging pat on the back, a sensual caress, a nudge for attention, a tender kiss, or a gentle brush of the shoulder can all convey a vitality and immediacy that is at times far more powerful than language. According to App et al (2011), touch is the preferred non-verbal communication channel for conveying intimate emotions like love and sympathy, confirmed by, for instance, Debrot et al (2013) who showed that responsive touch between romantic partners enhances their affective state.…”

Mental Health and Multimorbidity: Psychosocial Adjustment as an Important Process for Quality of Life

“…This is one of many reasons why the socio-interpersonal context plays an important role in the adaptation to a stressful life event [23]. The romantic partner, as commonly the closest significant other in adulthood, can be seen as a resource when coping with the disease, a phenomenon referred to as dyadic coping [24] in general, and when it comes to the emotional processing of the event in the dyad as interpersonal emotion regulation [25]. A key strategy of interpersonal emotion regulation is disclosure - the verbal sharing of thoughts and feelings [26].…”

“…Furthermore, if disclosure is followed by a responsive reaction of the listening partner it triggers the establishment of psychological closeness or intimacy, and improves relationship quality. Relationship quality in turn has raised more and more attention in the scientific community as an important predictor of a more adaptive adjustment to stressful situations: studies have shown that psychological intimacy and social embedment are associated with positive effect [25], well-being and health [28]. Discussed pathways of this effect are known associations between the social context and neuroendocrine parameters (e.g.…”

Extending the reach of social touch through haptic technology

“…Frequent partner contact over longer periods of time is also related to general positive affect and psychological well-being [121], and is related to a lower risk of infection with the common cold virus [105].…”

“…The sad story of the Romanian orphans who received almost no social touch and were much worse off for it, illustrates this need poignantly [77,98,332,374]. Such a craving for touch endures in later life, and most profoundly affects people in a romantic relationship for whom a touch may benefit their overall well-being [121] and immediate responses to stressful events [102,127,345].…”