Relationships and Research: Different Ways to Connect

Love and intimacy are the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well, what causes sadness and what brings happiness, what makes us suffer and what leads to healing.¹

Animal Studies

The healing power of social connection began to receive research attention in the 1960s and 1970s. A variety of research involving numerous animal species found that if animals are exposed to a stressor, their health is less likely to deteriorate if they are in the presence of familiar cage mates, rather than alone. In fact, a stressor that would increase blood cortisol levels by 50% in an animal that is alone will not affect cortisol level when it is in familiar company.²f

To learn more about benefits of relationships between animals and people, refer to the clinical tool, “Animal-Assisted Therapy.”

Human Research

Similar effects have been found in many studies involving humans. A 2006 study evaluated functional MRI (fMRI) findings in women who were awaiting an electric shock.³ Women who were alone, or those who held the hands of unknown strangers prior to being shocked, continued to have fMRI changes consistent with anxiety. Their stress hormone levels were increased. In contrast, women who held hands with their husbands, and who were in a marriage they rated highly in measures of mutuality (high levels of shared interests, feelings, thoughts, aspirations, and goals) felt less anxiety. Their fMRI findings showing less activity in the parts of the brain that were found to be active if they experienced the electric shocks either when they were alone or with a stranger.

These effects are not limited to the artificial environment of the laboratory. The Alameda County study, which followed over 7,000 residents of Alameda county for nine years, was one of the many studies that drove this point home.⁴ It found that the best predictor of mortality in people over 60 was their level of social support. Having close ties to family members and friends was the best predictor of longevity of all the health variables studied.⁵

Furthermore, as was noted in a 2006 literature review of 29 studies, better social support correlates with better surgical outcomes.⁶ A 1997 study found that people with limited positive relationships developed colds four times more frequently than others.⁷. Just as positive support can be beneficial, negative social support can lead to worse health outcomes.⁸ For example unhappy marriages led to 34% more coronary events, regardless of gender and social status.⁹