Affective touch and regulation of stress responses

Much has been documented on the association between stress and health. Both direct and indirect pathways have been identified and explored extensively, helping us understand trajectories from healthy individuals to reductions in well-being, and development of preclinical and disease states. Some of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health psychology review 2023-03, Vol.17 (1), p.60-77
Main Authors: Kidd, Tara, Devine, Shaunna L., Walker, Susannah C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affect - physiology
attachment
c-tactile
Emotional regulation
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Life course
Physiology
Social relations
Stress
Touch
Touch - physiology
Touch Perception - physiology
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Summary:Much has been documented on the association between stress and health. Both direct and indirect pathways have been identified and explored extensively, helping us understand trajectories from healthy individuals to reductions in well-being, and development of preclinical and disease states. Some of these pathways are well established within the field; physiology, affect regulation, and social relationships. The purpose of this review is to push beyond what is known separately about these pathways and provide a means to integrate them using one common mechanism. We propose that social touch, specifically affective touch, may be the missing active ingredient fundamental to our understanding of how close relationships contribute to stress and health. We provide empirical evidence detailing how affective touch is fundamental to the development of our stress systems, critical to the development of attachment bonds and subsequent social relationships across the life course. We will also explore how we can use this in applied contexts and incorporate it into existing interventions.
ISSN:1743-7199
1743-7202
DOI:10.1080/17437199.2022.2143854