Effects of affectionate touch between spouses on cardiovascular stress responses

描述(申请人提供)：社会关系有益于健康，研究支持这样的观点，即婚姻幸福的人比未婚的人更健康，寿命更长。对于大多数人来说，婚姻是一种强大的社会纽带，其中许多方面的联系都在一段关系中找到，伴侣很可能是依恋的目标，而且有多种积极的身体接触的机会。与他人积极的身体接触会产生潜在的减轻压力的生理变化，而这种变化可能会通过依恋得到加强。综上所述，这些发现表明，触摸可能会缓和或调节婚姻带来的一些与健康相关的好处。对非拉丁裔的研究表明，温暖的伴侣接触(包括积极的身体接触和积极的社会互动)可能会导致血压(BP)和心率(HR)对心理社会应激源的反应降低。目前的研究将探索这些影响的心理生理机制。它还将测试一个模型，在该模型中，影响可能会根据个体差异、夫妇特征和文化背景而有所不同。文化影响将通过比较拉美裔和非拉美裔夫妇来研究。我们之所以关注拉丁裔，是因为尽管数据稀缺，但与美国主流标准相比，拉丁裔文化被视为高度接触。此外，拉丁裔的心血管风险低于预期。目前的研究将探讨在拉丁裔夫妇中，积极的身体接触是一种更有效的压力反应减少量的可能性。该试点项目有3个具体目标：1)确定身体接触和社会互动在多大程度上有助于降低血压和心率对实验室应激源的反应；2)研究身体接触和社会互动如何影响血压和心率应激反应的潜在贡献者(心输出量[CO]、总外周阻力[TPR]、交感和副交感神经心脏激活)；以及3)探索显著的个体差异、夫妇特征和文化背景对这些影响的潜在缓和影响。中心假设是：1)身体接触和社会互动都会降低BP和HR对实验室应激源的反应；2)互动和触摸都会减少TPR，但不会减少CO；3)互动和触摸都会减少应激期间交感神经的增加和副交感的减少；4)身体接触相关的HR和BP的衰减将与对身体接触、较少的回避性依恋、较高的婚姻满意度和典型的触摸水平以及拉丁裔种族有关的积极态度和经验有关。样本将包括200对结婚至少6个月的夫妇(21-48岁)。在分别执行实验室应激源之前，伴侣将在一起花费10分钟，同时记录心血管变量(控制条件将要求伴侣彼此分开等待)。为了将身体接触的影响与社会互动的影响区分开来，在预应激期，夫妻们要么触摸，要么不接触，要么热烈交谈，要么热情交谈，产生四个处理组，外加一个对照组。对于每个实验条件，将招募大约相同数量的拉丁裔和非拉丁裔夫妇。 公共卫生相关性：社会联系似乎可以减少或预防许多健康问题。特别是那些婚姻幸福的人，他们比从未结婚的人更健康，寿命也更长。身体上的感情是婚姻满意度的一个重要因素，并可能通过减少压力反应来增强健康。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Social connection is beneficial to health, and research supports the idea that happily married individuals are healthier and live longer than the unmarried. For most individuals, marriage is a powerful social bond, in which many aspects of connection are found within a single relationship, the partner is likely a target of attachment, and there are multiple opportunities for positive physical contact. Positive physical contact with others engenders potential stress-reducing physiological changes that may be enhanced by attachment. Taken together, these findings suggest some health-related benefits of marriage may be moderated or mediated by touch. Studies in non-Latinos have shown warm partner contact (comprising both positive physical contact and positive social interaction) may cause reduced blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) responses to psychosocial stressors. The current study will explore the psychophysiological mechanisms of these effects. It will also test a model in which the effects may vary based on individual differences, couple characteristics, and cultural context. Cultural influences will be studied by comparing Latino and non-Latino couples. We focus on Latinos because, although data are scarce, Latino cultures are viewed as high-contact relative to mainstream American norms. Also, Latinos have lower than expected cardiovascular risk. The current study will investigate the possibility that positive physical contact is a more potent reducer of stress responses in Latino couples. This pilot project has 3 specific aims: 1) to determine to what extent physical contact and social interaction contribute to lower BP and HR responses to lab stressors; 2) to examine how physical contact and social interaction affect underlying contributors to BP and HR stress responses (cardiac output [CO], total peripheral resistance [TPR], sympathetic and parasympathetic cardiac activation); and 3) to explore potential moderating influences of salient individual differences, couple characteristics, and cultural context on these effects. The central hypotheses are: 1) both physical contact and social interaction will reduce BP and HR responses to a laboratory stressor; 2) both interaction and touch will reduce TPR, but not CO; 3) interaction and touch will reduce both sympathetic increases and parasympathetic decreases during stress; and 4) physical contact- related attenuation of HR and BP will be associated with positive attitudes and experiences regarding physical contact, less avoidant attachment, higher marital satisfaction and typical levels of touch, and Latino ethnicity. The sample will comprise 200 couples (age 21-48) married at least 6 mo. Partners will spend 10 min together prior to separately performing a laboratory stressor while cardiovascular variables are recorded (a control condition will require partners to wait separately from each other). To disentangle the effects of physical contact from those of social interaction, couples will either touch or not, and will either converse warmly or not, during the pre-stress period, yielding four treatment groups, plus a control group. Approximately equal numbers of Latino and non-Latino couples will be recruited for each experimental condition. Public Health Relevance: Social connection appears to decrease or prevent many health problems. Happily married individuals, in particular, are healthier and live longer than their never-married counterparts. Physical affection is an important contributor to marital satisfaction, and may enhance health by reducing stress responses.