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Effects of different kinds of couple interaction on cortisol and heart rate responses to stress in women

Overview of attention for article published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, May 2007
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Among the highest-scoring outputs from this source (#30 of 3,920)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (99th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (99th percentile)

Citations

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Title
Effects of different kinds of couple interaction on cortisol and heart rate responses to stress in women
Published in
Psychoneuroendocrinology, May 2007
DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.03.011
Pubmed ID
Authors

Beate Ditzen, Inga D. Neumann, Guy Bodenmann, Bernadette von Dawans, Rebecca A. Turner, Ulrike Ehlert, Markus Heinrichs

Abstract

In animal studies, positive social interaction and physical contact play a preeminent role in the control of behavioral and neuroendocrine responses to stress. The aim of this study was to determine whether specific kinds of couple interaction reduce hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and autonomic responses to psychosocial stress in women. Sixty-seven women, aged 20-37 years, who had been married or cohabiting with a male partner for at least 12 months at the time of the study, were exposed to a standardized psychosocial laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Participants were randomly assigned to three study groups differing in the type of a 10-min period of social interaction with their partner prior to stress: n=25 with no partner interaction, n=22 with verbal social support, and n=20 with physical contact (standardized neck and shoulder massage). Salivary free cortisol levels, plasma levels of oxytocin, heart rate, and psychological responses to stress were compared among the three study groups. Women with positive physical partner contact before stress exhibited significantly lower cortisol and heart rate responses to stress but no different plasma oxytocin levels compared to women who received social support or no social interaction. Verbal social support alone was not associated with reduced stress responsiveness. Our results are in line with previous human studies indicating reduced responsiveness to verbal social support by a spouse in women. More importantly, these findings imply a direct protective effect of touch on stress-related neurobiological systems as a possible underlying mechanism of health beneficial effects of positive couple interaction.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 7 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 513 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United States 6 1%
Germany 4 <1%
United Kingdom 4 <1%
Switzerland 2 <1%
France 1 <1%
Canada 1 <1%
Israel 1 <1%
Denmark 1 <1%
Poland 1 <1%
Other 0 0%
Unknown 492 96%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 100 19%
Student > Master 77 15%
Student > Bachelor 76 15%
Researcher 52 10%
Student > Doctoral Student 37 7%
Other 85 17%
Unknown 86 17%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Psychology 229 45%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 48 9%
Medicine and Dentistry 27 5%
Neuroscience 27 5%
Social Sciences 24 5%
Other 53 10%
Unknown 105 20%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 298. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 29 January 2024.
All research outputs
#116,786
of 25,464,544 outputs
Outputs from Psychoneuroendocrinology
#30
of 3,920 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#150
of 85,329 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Psychoneuroendocrinology
#1
of 15 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,464,544 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,920 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 15.7. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 85,329 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 15 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.