In 2008 at Metropolitan State College of Denver I did my statistic project on touch and well being. I was the only one in class that found a significant correlation! I recently found my paper and wanted to share it here, though I know now that touch is actually the first sense we develop and it’s part of our lives even before we are born. I’m sure there is new research available and APA style has probably changed. Still was proud of this and I hope someday I have the opportunity to do more research about the topic.
Abstract
Extending previous research done evaluating the benefits of massage on special populations, the present study sought to determine whether touch is related to increased well-being in the general population. Participants self-reported well-being and how comfortable they were with giving and receiving everyday touch on surveys and their scores were added and compared. There was a significant positive correlation found between touch and well-being. touch may be a simple way to improve well-being for the general population. An experimental design of this research is recommended so that a causal relationship can be established.
Does Touch Improve Well-being?
Touch is an integral part of our every day lives beginning at birth. In 1958 Harry Harlow began studying the positive effect that warm nurturing physical contact had on orphaned monkeys (Harlow, 1958). In recent years there has been a surge of touch therapies entering the health care market that entering the importance touch has on well-being. Studies have been conducted to better understand the benefits that massage therapy, an organized form of touch, have on a person’s physiology, including reducing blood pressure (Field, Hernandes-Reif & Diego, 2005). There have been numerous studies exploring the use of massage and other touch therapies on special populations, such as the elderly (Field et al, 1998), but none on the general population. Studies have also shown that touching benefits the giver as well as the receiver (Moyer, Rounds, & Hannum, 2003). There has also recently, been talk of the importance of touching during psychotherapy sessions (Turp, 2000). With all of the health options available to the public today, it is important to determine the actual benefits and value of touch for the general population.
A prime example of the importance of touch was illustrated in 1958 by Harlow’s ground breaking work. In his studies he found that when the orphaned infant rhesus monkeys were faced with the choice of a surrogate mother that was warm and soft or one that was constructed of wire but contained food, the infant monkeys would always choose the comfort of the soft mother figure over the food (Harlow, 1958). The fact that the monkeys chose the comforting touch of the warm surrogate over food testifies the importance touch plays in life.
The International Journal of Neuroscience published an article about many of the physiological benefits of massage (Field, Hernandez-Reif & Diego, 2005). It was found that after massage levels of the hormone cortisol significantly decreased. This outcome is important because cortisol is released byt the adrenal cortex and causes blood pressure to rise along with blood sugar and also shuts down the immune system (Field, Hernandez-Reif & Diego, 2005). If a body is stressed and continues to release the hormone, this continued release can cause numerous problems for the health and well-being of an individual. The article also noted the presence of higher levels of dopamine and serotonin following massage, both of which play important roles in the brains reward center and have many positive effects in the body. If massage can benefit the physiology and health of a person, then other forms of touch may also have a positive effect on well-being.
Special populations that have been studied and had positive results from touch range from genetic disorders to psychological problems. Mental disorders such as depression and anxiety have been shown to improve with receiving touch just once or on multiple occasions (Moyer, Rounds, Hannum, 2003). Many of the problem behaviors associated with autism were found to improve after touch (Field, et al. 1998). There have also been positive effects shown with depressed adolescents (field, Frizzle, Scafidi & Schanber, 1996) and depressed mothers (Jones, Field, 1999) after receiving touch. Massage has been shown to help children with cystic fibrosis (Hernandez-Reif et al., 1999), cerebral palsy (Hernandez-Reif, et all, 2005) and Down Syndrome (Hernandez-Reif et al, 2006). These are chronic lifelong problems with no cure, yet people affected with them have found relief through touch. Lack of touch, or touch deprivation, has been shown to cause a significantly decreased body image in young woman women with eating disorders (Gupta, Gupta, Schork, Watteel, 1995). Thus receiving touch might contribute to establishing a positive body image. Massage has been shown to boost sports performance by increasing muscle recovery and preventing injuries (Weerapong, Hume, Kolt, 2005). Not only does massage improve normal muscle function it has been shown to help with serious life threatening illnesses such as lung cancer (Sola et al. 2004) and HIV (Ironson et al, 1996). Although neither disease has a cure, massage has been shown to reduce anxiety, increase the sense of well-being, and show positive changes in blood chemistry in people with these disorders. While this list may seem extensive, it is just scratching the surface of the many studies showing the benefits of massage therapy. All of these studies that have observed these benefits, have concentrated on pathophysiology. There is an alarming lack of studies conducted to see if there are similar benefits of touch for normal healthy adults.
The benefits of massage are not limited to the one receiving it. Depression is lifted in mothers (Malphurs et al, 1996) and the elderly (Field et al, 1998) when they are given the training and opportunity to massage infants. The fact that touch is not just beneficial to those receiving, but also to those who are giving their touch further illustrates how important physical contact is for overall well-being.
The element of touch has also drawn attention fo psychologist who have found touch may play an important role in talk therapy (Turp, 2000). There is still a controversy in psychotherapy speculating whether touch should be incorporated and what may be the ethical concerns. The very fact that touch has become and issue shows that it may indeed play an intergral part in mental health as well as physical health. Descartes wrote about eh importance of the mind and body connection in 1650 and only now is the importance being investigated in psychology.
There is a large among of evidence supporting the positive importance of touch bus all these studies have been on selected populations and only using massage. It would be rational to believe that other forms of healthy, non-sexual touch given and received, will improve well-being in all people. Since touch has been shown to help the well-being in special populations it is possible that it will benefit people in the normal population. The present study measured if those who reported higher levels of everyday touch would also report higher levels of well-being to see if there is any relationship.
Methods
Participants
Participants were 30 adults. They ranged in age from 18 to 42 with the mean age being 26 (SD=4.7). There were 18 females and 12 males that participated.
Materials
Scales of Psychological Well-Being (Ryff, 1989) is an 84-item questionnaire used to assess psychological well-being in six different dimensions of life: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with other, purpose of life and self-acceptance. The questions can be answered from a (1) strongly disagree to a (6) strongly agree, in regards to the questions about how participants feel about themselves and their life. 1. In general I feel I am in charge of the situation in which I live. 2. The demands of everyday life often get me down.
A self-report scale with 55 questions was adapted from the book Vitamin T (Czimbal & Zadikov, 1991). The measure asked questions on seven levels of touch: public, professional, social, friendly, family, special and personal. The participants answer from (1) always to (5) never. 1. Are you comfortable handshaking when being introduced to a stranger? 2. Do you hug friends when you greet them? 3. Do you put lotion on your body after a bath or shower?
Procedure
In this correlational study half of the participants were given the well-being measure first followed by the touch scale and the second half received the touch scale followed by the well-being measure. The participants had 10 minutes to complete the touch measure and 15 minutes to complete the well-being measure.
Results
After assessment of the participant’s self-reported touch and well-being measure with a possible score of 115 and 108 respectively, a positive correlation was found between touch and psychological well-being. There was a significant correlations between well-being and touch (r = .52, p=.001). It was also shown there was no correlation between well-being and exercise or well-being and healthy sleep patterns.
Discussion
The primary goal of this study was to evaluate whether touch plays a positive role in the well-being of normal individuals. The findings of this study are consistent with research done in special populations and in addition to the positive finding of touch and psychological benefits. This research has shown significant positive correlations between touch and psychological well-being within the normal population. This is important information because if reinforces that touch should be an integral part of well-being and may be beneficial in prevention psychological problems. It is also important because it shows that normal everyday human contact is important, not just trained manual therapies such as massage.
It is also important to realize that this was a correlational study and there is a possibility that other factors may have caused higher scores in well-being other than touch, such as having strong social relationships. It is important to continue this research with an experimental study to observe if touch itself really does increase people’s well0being. By actually offering massage and noting if there is an increase in subjects reported well-being a cause/effect relationship could be continue.
There are many social stigmas that should be altered concerning non-sexual healthy touch and it’s importance for people’s well-being. If steps are taken to broaden the acceptable levels of sexual touch in schools and work places it could have an overall positive effect on the general population. It may benefit people many disconnected members of society, such as Seung-Hui Cho, who recently committed the terrible mass murder/suicide at the Virginia Tech campus. Current fears of sexual abuse and sexual harassment are such that a hand on the shoulder may be taken as something malicious and thus has resulted in a hands-off approach to living. This study illustrates the need to reevaluate our views concerning touch in our society and the need to alter the perceived norms associated with touch in order to benefit the overall well-being of the general population.
The touch measure used in this study is new and may not be valid. It is important to conduct a pilot study in order to insure a viable measure, by comparing scores from people who receive a lot of massage and those who have never received a massage. Both measures were self-reported and could have an effect on the validity of this study. It would also be more conclusive to make use of a larger sample to improve the study’s external validity. If would be important to test weather touch and well-being are correlated in different regions of the country as well as around the world. A study about accepted levels of touch across cultures would also be incredibly useful. Studying the benefits of touch on individuals in correctional faciliteis may show very important benefits for those individuals and lead to limitations or even eliminations of solitary confinement. Studying the effects of touch on different psychiatric disorders might provide insight and create healthy and effective treatment as well. The range of people within society that the inexpensive therapy of touch could benefit is endless. The need for human touch is real and importan, weather it is the comforting embrace of a loved one, a solid handshake from a business associate ora good massage, we need touch to remind us of our connection ot the would outside of our own body. Those who suffer from deficient must be given ample opportunity to receive healthy touch to be well in mind and body.
References available upon request.