Relationships and health
[2] Neurosciences of health investigate the neuronal circuits implicated in the context of both social connection and disconnection.
[2] The main effect model postulates that our social networks influence our psychology (our affect) and our physiology (biological responses).
For example, it has been demonstrated that higher social support improves our level of physical activity, which in turn has a positive effect on our health.
[2] This model explains the effect of social networks on health when an individual is facing a stressful event.
This assumption has been quite well supported by the literature, but it remains unclear if other mechanisms of social relationships can have an impact on health too.
Thus, it seems important that the theoretical models include some other factors, such as gender, to explain the links between social networks and health outcomes.
[14] Hibbard (1985) explored the link between social ties and health status by conducting a series of household surveys.
[15] Indeed, she found that people who have more social ties, more perception of control, and are most trustful with others tend to have better physical health.
[16] The results showed that social ties might influence emotional sustenance and promote active coping assistance.
tend to provide more instrumental support and emotional sustaining whereas experientially similar others (i.e., people who experienced the same life events than us) tend to provide more empathy, "role model" (a similar person looked like a model, a person to imitate) and active coping assistance.
To create a stressful event, they informed the woman participant of each couple that she will receive moderate electric shocks.
The findings suggested that both spouse and stranger hand holding attenuated neural response to the threat, but spousal hand-holding was particularly efficient.
Relationships provide social support that allows us to engage fewer resources to regulate our emotions, especially when we must cope with stressful situations.
In a lifespan perspective, recent research suggests that early life experiences still have consequences on health behavior in adulthood.
Moreover, some physiological responses such as elevations in heart rate, changes in hormone levels related to stress, and alterations to immunity function, emerge during conflict discussions in married couples.
Low-quality marital relationships increase the probability of developing chronic stress and tend to have long-term implications for health.
A study was conducted in the United States among older adults to examine the relationship between social isolation, loneliness, and health outcomes.
Indeed, the feeling of loneliness is more strongly related to having mental health problems than objective social isolation.
Hefner and Eisenberg conducted a study among college students to evaluate the relationship between social support and mental health.
[24][3] Some empirical evidence supporting these ideas has been obtained based on research in animals, in humans through neuroimaging, and hormonal studies.
[3][23] On the other hand, for the reward system linked to the social experience, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) seems to have an important implication.
In a study conducted by Eisenberger and colleagues in 2011, the participants saw a picture of a highly supportive, romantic relationship partner during an experience of physical pain.
[3][23] Finally, regarding hormonal studies, Uchino and colleagues suggest that there is a link between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and inflammatory markers that may predict some health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and frailty.
Based on what has been described above, it is important to elaborate interventions that improve physical and mental health by enhancing social relationships.
For instance, Leung, Orrell, and Orgeta (2015) reviewed the literature testing the positive effect of social support group interventions for people diagnosed with dementia and found out they have small benefits on depression and the quality of life of the patients.
The goal of the interventions that address abnormal social cognition is that lonely individuals learn that automatic negative thoughts are not facts, but hypotheses.
To reduce social isolation, policies can enhance the education system to improve social-emotional skills for instance.
This assumption is reinforced by the findings of De Silva and colleagues that suggest the effect of relationships on health might differ depending on the culture.
