Stress and partner support: the results of a study

TOSome university researchers asked couples to interact with each other, and then measured their stress levels. Here’s what they discovered

Does your partner support you in times of difficulty? It’s an important issue in a relationship because, according to a recent study, feeling unsupported by your partner can be provoking physical stress.

The research, conducted by psychologists from Binghamton University in New York, highlighted that people who feel understood and helped by their partner are less stressed. In those who, however, do not feel supported at all, the levels of cortisol increase, i.e. the stress hormone, whose characteristic is to work with some areas of the brain to influence mood, motivation and behavior.

How the study was carried out

The researchers examined 191 pairs married heterosexuals to find out whether better communication skills in giving and receiving support led to lower cortisol levels. The couples discussed personal matters unrelated to their marriage over the course of ten minute sessions each.

The scholars then analyzed their communication to identify cases of social support given and received, both positive and negative. Then, they assessed how participants perceived the support they received and collected saliva samples to test theirs cortisol levels.

Stress and partner support: the discovery

The results of the study were published in Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. The researchers found that the wives they received negative support, or whose husbands denied help, felt less understood. This had an effect of “amplification of stress”. In fact, cortisol increased during the interaction.

We predict the partner’s reaction

The scholars also found that even before the interaction the people involved in the study seemed predict accurately how the partner would have acted. In fact, in some cases the stress level has already risen before starting the communication session. Thus, couples may be able to guess their partner’s degree of support based on past experiences.

Hence the scholars’ conclusion that the perception of how supportive a partner is it builds over time and through different interactions. In fact, those who believed their partner would support them had lower cortisol levels before and after the interaction.

Stress and partner support: the importance of words

But support alone is not enough. Also the tone of voice with whom the partner makes his closeness felt is important, as well as what he says.

Previous research published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology they had, in fact, already highlighted that different types of interactions, such as verbal communication and touch, have different effects on stress levels.