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

Martin Stoffel; Elvira Abbruzzese; Stefanie Rahn; Ulrike Bossmann; Markus Moessner; Beate Ditzen

doi:10.1007/s00702-021-02359-3

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

J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2021 Sep;128(9):1381-1395. doi: 10.1007/s00702-021-02359-3. Epub 2021 Jun 28.

Authors

Martin Stoffel¹, Elvira Abbruzzese², Stefanie Rahn³, Ulrike Bossmann³, Markus Moessner⁴, Beate Ditzen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Medical Psychology, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Bergheimer Straße 20, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany. martin.stoffel@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
² Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
³ Institute of Medical Psychology, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Bergheimer Straße 20, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁴ Institute of Psychosocial Prevention, Center for Psychotherapy Research, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Bergheimer Straße 54, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁵ Institute of Medical Psychology, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Bergheimer Straße 20, 69115, Heidelberg, Germany. beate.ditzen@med.uni-heidelberg.de.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Psychobiological stress; Salivary alpha-amylase; Salivary cortisol; Social interactions; Social support; Stress buffering.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Hydrocortisone
Saliva
Social Interaction*
Stress, Psychological*
alpha-Amylases

Substances

alpha-Amylases
Hydrocortisone