查看文章

Objective

The importance of recovery from stress is evident in times of high prevalence of stress-related diseases. Intimacy has been found to buffer psychobiological stress reactivity, suggesting that emotional and physical closeness might trigger biological mechanisms that underlie the health-beneficial effects of couple relationships. Here, we investigated whether couples' spontaneous expression of intimacy before and after psychosocial stress exposure in the laboratory reduced cortisol reactivity and accelerated recovery.

Methods

Data from 183 couples (366 individuals) were analyzed. Couples were randomly assigned to one of the following three experimental conditions: only the female partner (n= 62), only the male partner (n= 61), or both partners were stressed in parallel (n= 60) with the Trier Social Stress Test. Couples' behavior was videotaped and coded for expressions of intimacy, and saliva samples …