The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Negative behavior during marital conflict is associated with immunological down-regulation.
Abstract
Although increased morbidity and mortality have been reliably associated with social isolation and less satisfying personal relationships, relatively little is known about the underlying biopsychosocial mechanisms. We assessed problem-solving behaviors and changes in immune function in 90 newlywed couples who were admitted to a hospital research unit for 24 hours. Subjects who exhibited more negative or hostile behaviors during a 30-minute discussion of marital problems showed greater decrements over 24 hours relative to low negative subjects on four functional immunological assays (natural killer cell lysis, blastogenic response to two mitogens, and the proliferative response to a monoclonal antibody to the T3 receptor), as well as larger increases in the numbers of total T lymphocytes and helper T lymphocytes. High negative subjects had higher antibody titers to latent Epstein-Barr virus than low negative subjects, consistent with down-regulated immune function. Women were more likely to show negative immunological changes than men. The discussion of marital problems also led to larger increases in blood pressure that remained elevated longer in high negative subjects than low negative subjects. Positive or supportive problem-solving behaviors were not related to either immunological or blood pressure changes. These physiological differences were particularly noteworthy because marital satisfaction was high in both groups, and couples had been selected on the basis of stringent mental and physical health criteria. These data provide additional support for the link between personal relationships and immune function.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Kiecolt-Glaser et al. (1993) and, more recently, Nealey-Moore et al. (2007) observed increased heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) in response to couple conflict in both men and women, as did Flor et al. (1995) in chronic pain patients and healthy controls.”
From Sex-specific effects of intranasal oxytocin on autonomic nervous system and emotional responses to couple conflict (2013) · cites this paper as Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1993
Citations
Cites
A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology.
Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960) · Journal of Consulting Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0047358 · Cited by 8,686
High blood pressure and marital discord: Not being nasty matters more than being nice.
Ewart, C. K., Taylor, C. B., Kraemer, H. C., & Agras, W. S. (1991) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.10.3.155 · Cited by 241
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Psychological stress and the human immune system: a meta-analytic study of 30 Years of inquiry
Segerstrom, S. C., & Miller, G. E. (2004) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.601 · Cited by 3,334
Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.119.3.488 · Cited by 2,727
Self-citationMarriage and health: His and hers
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., & Newton, T. L. (2001) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.127.4.472 · Cited by 2,460
Self-citationStress, depression, the immune system, and cancer
Reiche, E. M. V., Nunes, S. O. V., & Morimoto, H. K. (2004) · The Lancet Oncology · doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(04)01597-9 · Cited by 1,364
The Costly Pursuit of Self-Esteem
Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.3.392 · Cited by 1,402
Emotions, morbidity, and mortality: new perspectives from psychoneuroimmunology.
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., McGuire, L., Robles, T. F., & Glaser, R. (2002) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135217 · Cited by 1,176
Self-citationPredicting marital happiness and stability from newlywed interactions
Gottman, J. M., Coan, J., Carrere, S., & Swanson, C. (1998) · Journal of Marriage and the Family · doi:10.2307/353438 · Cited by 1,121
The physiology of marriage: pathways to health.
Robles, T. F., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2003) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0031-9384(03)00160-4 · Cited by 748
Self-citationHostile Marital Interactions, Proinflammatory Cytokine Production, and Wound Healing
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Loving, T. J., Stowell, J. R., Malarkey, W. B., Lemeshow, S., Dickinson, S. L., & Glaser, R. (2005) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.12.1377 · Cited by 715
Self-citationPsychoneuroimmunology: psychological influences on immune function and health
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., McGuire, L., Robles, T. F., & Glaser, R. (2002) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.70.3.537 · Cited by 686
Self-citationHealth Promoting Effects of Friends and Family on Health Outcomes in Older Adults
Seeman, T. E. (2000) · American Journal of Health Promotion · doi:10.4278/0890-1171-14.6.362 · Cited by 634
Stress, age, and immune function: toward a lifespan approach
Graham, J. E., Christian, L. M., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2006) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-006-9057-4 · Cited by 329
Self-citationFor better or worse? Coregulation of couples’ cortisol levels and mood states
Saxbe, D., & Repetti, R. L. (2010) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0016959 · Cited by 324
Marital Conflict in Older Adults: Endocrinological and Immunological Correlates
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Glaser, R., Cacioppo, J. T., MacCallum, R. C., Snydersmith, M., Kim, C., & Malarkey, W. B. (1997) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-199707000-00001 · Cited by 281
Self-citationMarital dissatisfaction and psychiatric disorders: results from the National Comorbidity Survey
Whisman, M. A. (1999) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.108.4.701 · Cited by 263
Stroud, L. R., Tanofsky-Kraff, M., Wilfley, D. E., & Salovey, P. (2000) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf02895115 · Cited by 184
Vascular endothelial growth factor and social support in patients with ovarian carcinoma
Lutgendorf, S. K., Johnsen, E. L., Cooper, B., Anderson, B., Sorosky, J. I., Buller, R. E., & Sood, A. K. (2002) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/cncr.10739 · Cited by 160
Love, marriage, and divorce: Newlyweds' stress hormones foreshadow relationship changes
Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Bane, C., Glaser, R., & Malarkey, W. B. (2003) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-006x.71.1.176 · Cited by 188
Attachment avoidance predicts inflammatory responses to marital conflict
Gouin, J.-P., Glaser, R., Loving, T. J., Malarkey, W. B., Stowell, J., Houts, C., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2009) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2008.09.016 · Cited by 133
Self-citationFang, C. Y., Reibel, D. K., Longacre, M. L., Rosenzweig, S., Campbell, D. E., & Douglas, S. D. (2010) · The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine · doi:10.1089/acm.2009.0018 · Cited by 130
“14 15–17 For example, significant declines in natural killer (NK) cell numbers and activity have been observed during periods of high stress (e.g., marital conflict 18,19 ).”
Ditzen, B., Nater, U. M., Schaer, M., La Marca, R., Bodenmann, G., Ehlert, U., & Heinrichs, M. (2013) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nss083 · Cited by 112
“Kiecolt-Glaser et al. (1993) and, more recently, Nealey-Moore et al. (2007) observed increased heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) in response to couple conflict in both men and women, as did Flor et al. (1995) in chronic pain patients and healthy controls.”
BackgroundSalubrious effects of oxytocin on social stress-induced deficits
Smith, A. S., & Wang, Z. (2012) · Hormones and Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.11.010 · Cited by 88
Heffner, K. L., Loving, T. J., Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Himawan, L. K., Glaser, R., & Malarkey, W. B. (2006) · Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s10865-006-9058-3 · Cited by 89
Self-citationChildhood adversity and cell-mediated immunity in young adulthood: does type and timing matter?
Slopen, N., McLaughlin, K. A., Dunn, E. C., & Koenen, K. C. (2013) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2012.10.018 · Cited by 77
Reed, R. G., Barnard, K., & Butler, E. A. (2015) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/a0038561 · Cited by 73
The aftershocks of infidelity: a review of infidelity-based attachment trauma
Warach, B., & Josephs, L. (2021) · Sexual and Relationship Therapy · doi:10.1080/14681994.2019.1577961 · Cited by 94
Interleukin-6 and use of social support in gynecologic cancer patients
Lutgendorf, S. K., Anderson, B., Sorosky, J. I., Buller, R. E., & Lubaroff, D. M. (2000) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1207/s15327558ijbm0702_3 · Cited by 56
Review: Brain—immune communication psychoneuroimmunology of multiple sclerosis
Kern, S., & Ziemssen, T. (2008) · Multiple Sclerosis Journal · doi:10.1177/1352458507079657 · Cited by 45
Millstein, D. J., Orsillo, S. M., Hayes-Skelton, S. A., & Roemer, L. (2015) · Cognitive Behaviour Therapy · doi:10.1080/16506073.2015.1060255 · Cited by 31
“…cooccurring with GAD may contribute to this chronicity by negatively impacting psychological (Beach, Wamboldt, Kaslow, Heyman, & Reiss, 2006) and physical well-being (e.g., Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2005; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 1993) and potentially impeding therapeutic alliance (Eames & Roth, 2000).”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Malarkey, W. B., Chee, M., Newton, T., Cacioppo, J. T., Mao, H. Y., & Glaser, R.
- Affiliations
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Venue
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Published
- 1993-09
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 395-409
- ISSN
- 0033-3174 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2107486018
- Cited by
- 409
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2025: 14 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 5.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychosomatic Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH-44660, P01MH044660)
- National Cancer Institute (CA-16058-09, P30CA016058)
- National Center for Research Resources (MO1 RR 00034, M01RR000034)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Keywords
- marital conflict, negative behavior, hostility, immune function, newlyweds, problem-solving behavior, natural killer cells, T cells, blood pressure, sex differences, biopsychosocial mechanisms, interpersonal relationships
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Blood Pressure, Conflict, Psychological, Female, Heart Rate, Hostility, Humans, Immunocompetence, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Marriage, Psychoneuroimmunology, Down-Regulation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
