Romantic partner presence and physiological responses in daily life: Attachment style as a moderator

Han, Sohyun C.; Schacter, Hannah L.; Timmons, Adela C.; Kim, Yehsong; Sichko, Stassja; Pettit, Corey; Chaspari, Theodora; Narayanan, Shrikanth; Margolin, Gayla

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108082

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 43 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Although the number of hours that couples were not together was small ( n = 333) in comparison to the number of total hours captured ( N = 3,118), this finding provides initial evidence that linkage is associated with couple interaction and does not occur when couples are apart. This result is consistent with other recent research showing that partner presence is associated with decreased EDA levels in daily life (Han et al, 2021). Further, we found evidence that physiological linkage in EDA in daily life was significantly associated with both concurrent fluctuations in, as well as general levels of, relationship functioning, suggesting that linkage is indicative of meaningful interpersonal processes and not a statistical artifact.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and annoyance, and linkage in electrodermal activity.

Timmons¹,

Han²,

Chaspari³

et al. 2023

Emotion

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Physiological linkage refers to moment-to-moment, time-linked coordination in physiological responses among people in close relationships. Although people in romantic relationships have been shown to evidence linkage in their physiological responses over time, it is still unclear how patterns of covariation relate to in-the-moment, as well as general levels of, relationship functioning. In the present study with data collected between 2014 and 2017, we capture linkage in electrodermal activity (EDA) in a diverse sample of young-adult couples, generally representative and generalizable to the Los Angeles community from which we sampled. We test how naturally occurring, shifting feelings of closeness with and annoyance toward one's partner relate to concurrent changes in levels of physiological linkage over the course of 1 day. Additionally, we examine how linkage relates to overall relationship satisfaction. Results showed that couples evidenced significant covariation in their levels of physiological arousal in daily life. Further, physiological linkage increased during hours that participants felt close to their romantic partners but not during hours that participants felt annoyed with their partners. Finally, those participants with overall higher levels of relationship satisfaction showed lower levels of linkage over the day of data collection. These findings highlight how individuals respond in sync with their romantic partners and how this process ebbs and flows in conjunction with the shifting emotional tone of their relationships. The discussion focuses on how linkage might enhance closeness or, alternatively, contribute to conflict escalation and the potential of linkage processes to promote positive interpersonal relationships.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and annoyance, and linkage in electrodermal activity.

Timmons¹,

Han²,

Chaspari³

et al. 2023

Emotion

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Yet, this study found that individuals who reported more friend encounters showed higher levels of HRV (a favorable cardiovascular reactivity) than those who reported fewer friend encounters. This between-person finding was consistent with earlier research that shows individuals with more frequent contacts with close ties (e.g., family and friends) tend to have better cardiovascular health (Han et al, 2021; Holt-Lunstad et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Do friends get under the skin?: Everyday social encounters and cardiovascular functioning among Black and White adults in the United States.

Ng,

Han,

Fingerman

et al. 2024

Health Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: Studies have shown that contact with friends enhances emotional health, but little is known about whether friends influence cardiovascular health. This study investigated (a) whether encounters with friends and the quality of these encounters were associated with cardiovascular reactivity in everyday life and (b) whether these associations varied by race. Method: Participants were from the Stress and Well-being in Everyday Life Study which included Black (n = 76; aged = 34-76) and White (n = 87, aged = 34-91) adults residing in the United States. Participants provided background and social network information in a baseline interview, followed by a 4-day ecological momentary assessment in which they reported social encounters every 3 hr. Concurrently, participants wore an electrocardiogram monitor which collected physiological data in real time. To assess cardiovascular reactivity, heart rate variability (HRV) was analyzed. Results: Multilevel models revealed that at times when individuals encountered friends (particularly positive encounters), they exhibited a momentary reduction in HRV (within-person association). But those with more friend encounters during the study period (particularly positive encounters) had higher HRV than those with fewer friend encounters during the study period (between-person association). These links were observed only among Black adults, but not among White adults. Conclusions: This study contributes to the conceptual model of social integration and enriches the literature on racial disparities in cardiovascular health from a social perspective. Findings highlight the implications of engagement with friends for momentary cardiovascular reactivity and suggest that friends may be more salient for Black adults' cardiovascular health. Public Significance StatementThis study provides insights into the underlying mechanism by which daily interactions with friends can contribute to better health outcomes. Furthermore, it sheds light on the racial disparities in cardiovascular health from a social perspective. Findings highlight the importance of social factors and their roles in momentary cardiovascular reactivity, which carry significant implications for public health interventions and strategies that aim at improving overall cardiovascular health.

show abstract

“…Another important factor could be to consider person-level moderators. For instance, a recent study by Han et al ( 2021 ) found that romantic attachment style moderated the effects of partner presence on electrodermal activity (as an indicator of the autonomic nervous system) in everyday life. Following this, it seems also noteworthy that, beside valence and quantity, it could be of highest relevance to consider with whom the contact was made (e.g., romantic partner vs. stranger) and what kind of relationship the persons were engaged in (e.g., romantic vs. competitive).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Covariation of psychobiological stress regulation with valence and quantity of social interactions in everyday life: disentangling intra- and interindividual sources of variation

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While the overall effects of social relationships on stress and health have extensively been described, it remains unclear how the experience of social interactions covaries with the activity of psychobiological stress in everyday life. We hypothesized that the valence as well as quantitative characteristics of social interactions in everyday life would attenuate psychobiological stress. Sixty healthy participants provided data for the analyses. Using an ecological momentary assessment design, participants received 6 prompts on their smartphone for 4 days. At each prompt, they reported on social interactions since the last prompt (any occurrence, frequency, duration, quality, and perceived social support), current subjective stress, and provided one saliva sample for the analyses of cortisol (sCort) and alpha-amylase (sAA). Experiencing any contact within days as well as higher daily levels of contact quality and perceived social support were associated with reduced levels of sCort. Furthermore, on a daily level, experiencing at least one contact in-between prompts more often as well as having more contacts on average attenuated the sAA output. Perceived social support and contact quality as well as higher daily contact durations were associated with lower subjective stress. For sCort, daily levels of stress moderated the effects of experiencing any contact within days while daily perceived social support moderated the effects of subjective stress. For sAA, experiencing at least one contact in-between prompts more often on a daily level moderated the effects of subjective stress. There were no between-person effects throughout all analyses. The results show ecologically valid evidence for direct attenuating effects of social interactions on psychobiological stress as well as for the stress-buffering hypothesis in everyday life. Increasing the quantity and improving the valence of social interactions on an intrapersonal level can possibly reduce psychobiological stress and prevent its consequences.

show abstract

Romantic partner presence and physiological responses in daily life: Attachment style as a moderator

Cited by 15 publications

References 43 publications

Relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and annoyance, and linkage in electrodermal activity.

Relationship satisfaction, feelings of closeness and annoyance, and linkage in electrodermal activity.

Do friends get under the skin?: Everyday social encounters and cardiovascular functioning among Black and White adults in the United States.

Covariation of psychobiological stress regulation with valence and quantity of social interactions in everyday life: disentangling intra- and interindividual sources of variation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About