The DOI matches its Crossref record; 157 of the 159 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 133 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.
Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior
Open accessAbstract
Social Safety Theory hypothesizes that developing and maintaining friendly social bonds is a fundamental organizing principle of human behavior and that threats to social safety are a critical feature of psychological stressors that increase risk for disease. Central to this formulation is the fact that the human brain and immune system are principally designed to keep the body biologically safe, which they do by continually monitoring and responding to social, physical, and microbial threats in the environment. Because situations involving social conflict, isolation, devaluation, rejection, and exclusion historically increased risk for physical injury and infection, anticipatory neural–immune reactivity to social threat was likely highly conserved. This neurocognitive and immunologic ability for humans to symbolically represent and respond to potentially dangerous social situations is ultimately critical for survival. When sustained, however, this multilevel biological threat response can increase individuals’ risk for viral infections and several inflammation-related disease conditions that dominate present-day morbidity and mortality.
Overview
AI snapshot
Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
Social Safety Theory proposes that forming and maintaining friendly social bonds is a fundamental organizing principle of human behavior, and that threats to social safety are key psychological stressors that increase disease risk. It integrates immune, neural, and neuroimmune evidence to argue that social threat engages conserved inflammatory responses that, when sustained, contribute to viral infections and inflammation-related disease.
Key findings
- Social safety and social integration are linked to better health: a meta-analysis of 148 studies and 308,849 participants followed for an average of 7.5 years found being socially well integrated was associated with a 91% increase in odds of survival (OR = 1.91; 95% CI [1.63, 2.23]); another meta-analysis of 41 studies and 73,037 participants found lower inflammatory markers TNF-α, IL-6, CRP, and fibrinogen (Zr = −0.076; 95% CI [−0.11, −0.04]).
- Social threat predicts mortality and morbidity: adjusted mortality odds were 1.26 for low socioeconomic status (95% CI [1.21, 1.32]), 1.26 for perceived loneliness (95% CI [1.04, 1.53]), 1.29 for social isolation (95% CI [1.06, 1.56]), and 1.32 for living alone (95% CI [1.14, 1.53]), translating to roughly 2.1 years of reduced life expectancy by age 40. Targeted rejection stressors hasten depression onset, promote suicidal ideation, alter inflammatory signaling, and accelerate biological aging as indexed by telomere length.
- Proposed mechanisms involve four neural networks (amygdala, mentalizing, empathy, mirror neuron) and four neural–immune pathways (sympathetic nervous system, HPA axis, vagus nerve, meningeal lymphatic vessels) that enable “social signal transduction”; cytokines are described as critical mediators affecting physiology, cognition, and behavior.
- Several moderators are proposed: genetics (e.g., OPRM1 rs1799971, IL6 −174G>C), sleep, childhood microbial environment, diet/adiposity, birth cohort, air pollution, and self-harm. For example, parental absence predicted 47% higher CRP in young adulthood for those with low infancy animal-feces exposure versus 17% lower CRP for those with high exposure; PM2.5 <12 μg/m3 was associated with a 13.6% increase in all-cause mortality (HR = 1.136; 95% CI [1.131, 1.141]).
Methods
- Design: conceptual/theoretical review and theory-building paper; it proposes Social Safety Theory and reviews evidence for its three main tenets.
- Data or sample: no primary sample or new empirical data are reported; it synthesizes existing literature from anthropology, psychology, sociology, epidemiology, and public health, including cited meta-analyses, cohort studies, and experimental studies.
- Main analysis: narrative integration of prior stress theories, immune system function, social brain networks, neural–immune communication, and evidence for social safety and threat effects; no systematic review search or quality-appraisal methods are stated.
Limitations
- Stated in the paper: stress research lacks consensus on definitions and on which social-environmental adversities are most deleterious; epidemiologic studies are not designed to discern what about social threat is most harmful; no studies have examined within-person associations between nonsuicidal self-injury, inflammation, and social safety/threat; acetaminophen is the only biologically informed strategy listed and is far from accepted; future longitudinal studies are needed.
- Evident from the text: as a narrative review, it does not systematically search or appraise evidence or directly test the theory as a whole; causal and mechanistic claims rely on cited studies, and several proposed moderators (e.g., birth cohort, air pollution, self-harm) are presented as needing future research.
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
104 Not checked yet · 32 Own interpretation · 10 No basis given
In the paper
“being exposed to sustained social threat characterized by verbal attacks, social exclusion, devaluation, and aggression heightens inflammatory reactivity to social stress (Giletta et al. 2018)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 3: Social Threat Is Harmful for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Giletta et al. 2018
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“Sleep disturbance (e.g., difficulty falling or staying asleep, nonrestorative sleep, early-morning awakening) is a strong predictor of both inflammation-related disease risk and all-cause mortality (Irwin 2019).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Sleep
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Irwin 2019
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“it can promote anger, procrastination, aggression, and withdrawal as well as a variety of externalizing behaviors, such as fighting, cursing, cheating, rule breaking, and stealing (Leary 2001).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 3: Social Threat Is Harmful for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Leary 2001
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“socioeconomic status and subjective social status, which are strong predictors of all-cause mortality (see Adler & Rehkopf 2008, Muscatell et al. 2018).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 2: Social Safety Is Beneficial for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Adler & Rehkopf 2008
- Not checked yetcites Muscatell et al. 2018
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“29% for social isolation (OR = 1.29; 95% CI [1.06, 1.56])”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 3: Social Threat Is Harmful for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Holt-Lunstad et al. 2015
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“this SNS/βAR-driven IL6 gating effect on mortality was evident only for inflammation-related causes of death—namely, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Genetics
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cole et al. 2010
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“26% for low socioeconomic status (OR =1.26; 95% CI [1.21, 1.32])”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 3: Social Threat Is Harmful for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Stringhini et al. 2017
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“these so-called targeted rejection stressors hasten onset of depression (Slavich et al. 2009)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 3: Social Threat Is Harmful for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Slavich et al. 2009
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“32% for living alone (OR = 1.32; 95% CI [1.14, 1.53])”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 3: Social Threat Is Harmful for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Holt-Lunstad et al. 2015
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
In the paper
“having a socially safe relationship characterized by a stable sense of emotional security was associated with a 34% lower hazard of death during the 7-year study period (Lutgendorf et al. 2012).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 2: Social Safety Is Beneficial for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Lutgendorf et al. 2012
plaincorrelationaln = 168- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- It may state two separate claims as one. 48
- Probably not a substantial claim. 16
- The quote only partly states this claim. 4
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“individuals with greater social safety exhibit better outcomes in the context of acute myocardial infarction (Mookadam & Arthur 2004), amputation (Hawkins et al. 2016), acquired brain injury (Jones et al. 2011), substance dependence treatment (Haslam et al. 2019), HIV/AIDS (van Luenen et al. 2018), stroke (Haslam et al. 2008), and heart disease and cancer (Valtorta et al. 2016).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 2: Social Safety Is Beneficial for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Mookadam & Arthur 2004
- Not checked yetcites Hawkins et al. 2016
- Not checked yetcites Jones et al. 2011
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Whereas G allele carriers were twice as likely to meet criteria for major depressive disorder following a recent severe targeted rejection life event (e.g., because they exhibit less opioid receptor expression and signaling efficiency), A/A homozygotes were completely unaffected by such stress.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Genetics
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Slavich et al. 2014
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“with up to 48% of adults reporting at least some sleep complaints, it is especially prevalent among persons exposed to stressors that threaten social safety, such as interpersonal violence and aggression (Gallegos et al. 2019).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Sleep
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Gallegos et al. 2019
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“social safety is associated with greater occupational and scholastic achievement, perseverance, and productivity (Holt-Lunstad 2018, Strayhorn 2018) as well as with more volunteering and fewer sick days (Babey et al. 2019).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 2: Social Safety Is Beneficial for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Holt-Lunstad 2018
- Not checked yetcites Strayhorn 2018
- Not checked yetcites Babey et al. 2019
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“greater daily experiences of social threat (e.g., arguments with parents, family members, teachers, or friends; punishment; being insulted or threatened) interacted with shorter sleep duration to predict reduced expression of 511 genes and increased expression of 1,894 genes including several that promote inflammatory activity, such as TNF, IL1RAP, IL2RB, and IL15RA.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Sleep
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Chiang et al. 2019
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one. The quote only partly states this claim.
In the paper
“These social-environmental effects translate into a rather striking reduced life expectancy of around 2.1 years by age 40, thus exceeding the mortality risk associated with high alcohol intake, obesity, and hypertension (Stringhini et al. 2017).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 3: Social Threat Is Harmful for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Stringhini et al. 2017
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Social safety is also related to practicing better health behaviors, which in turn predicts numerous behavioral and health-related outcomes including longevity (Umberson et al. 2010).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 2: Social Safety Is Beneficial for Human Health and Behavior
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Umberson et al. 2010
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“For individuals exposed to low levels of animal feces during infancy, those who experienced a core threat to social safety in the form of prolonged parental absence during childhood (e.g., resulting from divorce, separation, or death) exhibited 47% higher CRP levels in young adulthood relative to their no-stress counterparts.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Childhood Microbial Environment
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites McDade et al. 2013
plaincorrelationaln = 1,622- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one. The quote only partly states this claim.
In the paper
“experiences of social threat can increase gut permeability, which enables bacteria to cross the epithelial barrier and activate a mucosal immune response that changes the microbiome, upregulates HPA axis and inflammatory activity, and heightens experiences of social threat”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Diet
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Dinan & Cryan 2012
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“high-fat diets cause compositional changes in the microbiome that heighten neuroendocrine reactivity and inflammatory activity, which in turn induce anxiety, hypervigilance, and experiences of social threat.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Diet
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Dinan & Cryan 2012
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“approximately 33% of women report having experienced lifetime partner or nonpartner physical violence, or nonpartner sexual violence (OECD 2011).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Birth Cohort
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites OECD 2011
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“NSSI is more common in people who have experienced major threats to social safety, such as emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, thus making social threat a key risk factor for NSSI (Nock 2009, Stewart et al. 2019).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Self-Harm
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Nock 2009
- Not checked yetcites Stewart et al. 2019
boostedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Diet strongly affects the bacterial composition of the microbiota that can in turn shape experiences of social safety and threat by influencing the brain–gut–microbiome axis, which includes the CNS, neuroendocrine and neuroimmune systems, autonomic nervous system, enteric nervous system, and intestinal microbiota (Dinan & Cryan 2012).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Diet
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Dinan & Cryan 2012
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“it was the participants who grew up in an urban environment who exhibited the greatest TSST-induced increases in IL-6.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Childhood Microbial Environment
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Böbel et al. 2018
plaincorrelationaln = 40- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one. The quote only partly states this claim.
In the paper
“Exposure to fine PM ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (i.e., PM2.5) is especially harmful because these particles can be inhaled, enter the circulation, and reach the brain, where they influence serotonergic and dopaminergic activity and affect brain structure, function, and plasticity.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Air Pollution
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Olvera Alvarez et al. 2018
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Across 35 countries, total fertility rates have dropped from an average of 2.7 children/woman in 1970 to 1.7 children/woman in 2009, leading to a corresponding decline in average household size and fewer available familial bonds.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Birth Cohort
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites OECD 2011
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“obesity shifts this immunologic stance toward a type 1 or T helper 1 state in which proinflammatory (i.e., M1-polarized) macrophages accumulate and secrete large amounts of different cytokines, including IL-1β and TNF-α, under conditions of psychological stress (Reilly & Saltiel 2017).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Diet
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Reilly & Saltiel 2017
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“NSSI has a lifetime prevalence of up to 23% in adolescents and 4% in adults”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Self-Harm
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Nock 2009
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“UNICEF (2014) estimated that across 62 countries, approximately 70% of children 2–14 years old have experienced psychological threats to social safety, such as verbal aggression, intimidation, humiliation, or ridicule.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Birth Cohort
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites UNICEF 2014
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“birth month has been found to independently predict longevity in several studies, with such effects being attributed to seasonal differences in the availability of healthy foods during pregnancy (which is generally better during spring and summer months) and to differences in infants’ likelihood of exposure to inflammation-promoting pathogens (which is generally worse in autumn and winter months)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Birth Cohort
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Doblhammer & Vaupel 2001
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“threats to social safety are a critical feature of psychological stressors that increase risk for disease”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > Abstract
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
The quote only partly states this claim.
In the paper
“DAMPs are now recognized as a key promoter of systemic chronic inflammation, meaning that they may be especially relevant for understanding how life stress exerts persistent effects on human health, behavior, and age-related disease risk (i.e., in the absence of infection) (see Furman et al. 2019)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM > Innate and Adaptive Immunity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Furman et al. 2019
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“APCs migrate from the infection site to local lymph nodes where they present antigen peptides to T helper cells, resulting in the release of several cytokines including IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) (Slavich 2020)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM > Innate and Adaptive Immunity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Slavich 2020
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“This type of innate immune response can occur in the absence of a pathogenic infection, which is why some have called it sterile inflammation, and it plays a critical role in helping individuals recover from tissue damage sustained during physical injury or bodily trauma (Crişan et al. 2016)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM > Innate and Adaptive Immunity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Crişan et al. 2016
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“there is little agreement about the types of social-environmental adversity that are most deleterious and no consensus regarding the social-psychological characteristics that make particular stressors stressful (Cohen et al. 2019, Epel et al. 2018)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > INTRODUCTION
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cohen et al. 2019
- Not checked yetcites Epel et al. 2018
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The primary goal of the immune system, in turn, is to keep the body biologically safe and protected from these foreign invaders and from physical injuries that could cause illness or death if left unaddressed (Slavich & Irwin 2014)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Slavich & Irwin 2014
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Social Safety Theory hypothesizes that developing and maintaining friendly social bonds is a fundamental organizing principle of human behavior”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > Abstract
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“DAMPs can bind to and activate PRRs, especially TLR2 and TLR4, and in turn initiate a very rapid inflammatory response that is characterized by NF-κB-mediated increases in several inflammatory cytokines, especially IL-1β (Schaefer 2014)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM > Innate and Adaptive Immunity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Schaefer 2014
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“the body engages the evolutionarily younger, 450-million-year-old adaptive immune system (Travis 2009). Compared with the innate immune response, which is nonspecific and occurs quickly, adaptive immunity develops over several days and involves the proliferation of microbial-specific lymphocytes that neutralize or eliminate microbes based on an immunological memory”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM > Innate and Adaptive Immunity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Travis 2009
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“these theories are largely based on behavioral and clinical data, with researchers in turn assuming how different stressors might affect underlying biological processes”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LIFE STRESS > Conceptual Conflict and Confusion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“these formulations provide very different, largely nonoverlapping explanations for why certain stressors are most impactful”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ON LIFE STRESS > Conceptual Conflict and Confusion
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“if the immunologic threat involves an intracellular pathogen (e.g., virus), then TLRs activate the transcription factors NF-κB, ATF2–c-Jun, interferon-regulatory factor 3, and interferon-regulatory factor 7, which induce antiviral immune response genes, particularly type I interferon genes”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM > Innate and Adaptive Immunity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Kawai & Akira 2006
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“The innate immune system dates back to the origin of multicellularity and provides humans with an extremely rapid, highly conserved immunologic defense response that gets activated under conditions of microbial infection and tissue damage (Travis 2009)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > THE HUMAN IMMUNE SYSTEM > Innate and Adaptive Immunity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Travis 2009
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“These vessels help drain macromolecules and excess fluid from the central nervous system (CNS). However, they also represent a physical path along which immune cells can travel from the CNS to the periphery”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > NEURAL–IMMUNE COMMUNICATION > Meningeal Lymphatic Vessels
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Multiple bidirectional pathways enable the brain to signal the peripheral immune system and vice versa during times of social threat. These pathways include the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, vagus nerve, and meningeal lymphatic vessels”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > NEURAL–IMMUNE COMMUNICATION
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
In the paper
“adversity can trigger increased arborization of SNS fibers in the lymph node, which expands the neural–immune regulatory pipeline and may promote neuro-inflammatory sensitization to adversity that sustains perceptions of social threat for months or years after an initial triggering event has passed (see Slavich & Irwin 2014)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Adaptive Versus Maladaptive Responsivity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Slavich & Irwin 2014
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“cytokines can affect threat and pain sensitivity, exploratory and pleasure-seeking behavior, ingestive behavior, sleep, learning, attention, memory, impulsivity, temporal focus, emotion regulation, executive function, and cognitive control (Larson & Dunn 2001, Shields et al. 2017)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Cytokines as Critical Mediators
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Larson & Dunn 2001
- Not checked yetcites Shields et al. 2017
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“adversity can lead to epigenetic reprogramming of innate immune cells (Crişan et al. 2016) and alter the hematopoietic output of these cells from the bone marrow (Hanke et al. 2012), skewing them toward a more proinflammatory state”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Adaptive Versus Maladaptive Responsivity
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Crişan et al. 2016
- Not checked yetcites Hanke et al. 2012
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“cortisol can also lead to increased inflammatory activity by priming heightened inflammatory reactivity, stimulating immune cell trafficking, and promoting glucocorticoid insensitivity/resistance (Sorrells et al. 2009)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > NEURAL–IMMUNE COMMUNICATION > Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Sorrells et al. 2009
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Each of these experiences threatens social safety in a different way and can therefore engage the social signal transduction pathways described above, leading to substantial changes in disease risk, cognition, and behavior”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Atop this list would be actual physical danger, such as being physically attacked, abused, or neglected. However, there are many other social circumstances a bit lower on the severity gradient that are also relevant, including social conflict, aggression, devaluation, discrimination, isolation, rejection, and exclusion (Slavich & Irwin 2014, Slavich et al. 2010a)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Slavich & Irwin 2014
- Not checked yetcites Slavich et al. 2010a
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Mounting an anticipatory inflammatory response to potential physical danger requires continually monitoring the extent to which the body is in a socially safe environment, and four neural networks support this capacity: the amygdala network, mentalizing network, empathy network, and mirror neuron system (Kennedy & Adolphs 2012)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > NEURAL NETWORKS REPRESENTING SOCIAL SAFETY
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Kennedy & Adolphs 2012
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Social threat is harmful for human health and behavior”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Current broad support for Social Safety Theory comes from several fields, including anthropology, psychology, sociology, epidemiology, and public health”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“humans have long inhabited a world filled with physical and microbial threats—including dangerous conspecifics, viruses, and bacteria—that can cause death and reduce reproductive success if not avoided or dealt with effectively”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Physical wounding threatens survival directly (e.g., through injury-induced bleeding) but also indirectly by enabling pathogens to enter the body through wounds created during social conflict”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Because the immune system cannot directly detect social circumstances that may increase risk for physical conflict or injury, it relies on the brain”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > NEURAL NETWORKS REPRESENTING SOCIAL SAFETY
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These activations can occur intermittently—for example, when engaged by occasional negative automatic thoughts about a potential threat in the environment—but they can also become prolonged, mediated by one’s social safety schemas about the self, social world, and future”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Social Safety Schemas
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“immune cells care about physical and social safety, not about a person’s financial resources or the size of his or her social network”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 1: Humans Evolved to Foster Social Safety
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: unclear — It is unclear why the paper says it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“a fundamental drive to develop friendly social bonds, and to mount a systemic inflammatory response to social cues historically associated with increased physical danger, was likely highly conserved”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY
hedged- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“humans have a well-known affinity for those most like themselves and a tendency to be hostile toward strangers (Bloom 2013), which historically enhanced their reproductive success and helped ensure their survival (Silk 2007).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 1: Humans Evolved to Foster Social Safety
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Bloom 2013
- Not checked yetcites Silk 2007
boosteddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The resulting release of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α heightens threat sensitivity that can degrade experiences of social safety and increase perceptions of social threat.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Sleep
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“These beneficial effects are similar in magnitude to quitting smoking and exceed those associated with traditional risk factors for mortality, such as obesity and physical inactivity.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 2: Social Safety Is Beneficial for Human Health and Behavior
plaincorrelationaln = 308,849- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Evidence of natural selection for prosociality first emerged about 2.6 million years ago in the Paleolithic period and it drove human self-domestication, enabling people to live, hunt, and gather together in small bands (Henrich 2015)”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 1: Humans Evolved to Foster Social Safety
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Henrich 2015
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“whereas social safety confers numerous benefits, social threat can degrade mental and physical health, lead to a variety of negative behaviors, and increase risk for biological aging and early mortality”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > EVIDENCE SUPPORTING SOCIAL SAFETY THEORY > Tenet 3: Social Threat Is Harmful for Human Health and Behavior
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Together, these data provide strong converging evidence that relative to individuals who are raised in rural environments, those who grow up in urban environments exhibit greater inflammatory responses to acute social threat in addition to poorer immunoregulatory/anti-inflammatory capability following such threat”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Childhood Microbial Environment
boostedcorrelationaln = 20- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Physical threats are the most impactful types of stressors from this evolutionary perspective, but such experiences are followed closely by social threats that historically increased risk for possible isolation, conflict, or wounding.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > CONCLUSION
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
- Rests on an assumption: Over millennia, the cellular self evolved to monitor its surroundings, detect threats, and produce anticipatory biobehavioral responses that gave the greatest adaptive advantage.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“NSSI may thus represent a behavioral trigger that induces neuroinflammation, which exacerbates a person’s perceptions of social conflict, criticism, or exclusion, in turn leading to heightened emotional distress and an even greater propensity to engage in NSSI”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Self-Harm
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The resulting production of inflammatory cytokines increases neural threat sensitivity that can degrade perceptions of social safety and promote experiences of social threat (Zhang et al. 2010).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL SAFETY > Self-Harm
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Zhang et al. 2010
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Life stress has been a notoriously messy construct with little agreement about what actually matters (Cohen et al. 2019, Malat et al. 2017, Monroe & Slavich 2020).”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > CONCLUSION
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cohen et al. 2019
- Not checked yetcites Malat et al. 2017
- Not checked yetcites Monroe & Slavich 2020
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“If we ask the human brain and immune system, though, they will tell us that social safety and social threat lie at the heart of life’s most impactful experiences.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > CONCLUSION
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: unclear — It is unclear whether it could be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Over millennia, the cellular self evolved to monitor its surroundings, detect threats, and produce anticipatory biobehavioral responses that gave the greatest adaptive advantage.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“To address these problems and begin to understand the true underlying structure of life stress, I propose that we need only look to our cellular selves, which evolved over millennia to monitor the surrounding environment, detect potential threats, and mount anticipatory biobehavioral responses that conferred the greatest adaptive advantage.”
§ Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior > CONCLUSION
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: fails — It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. It may be too vague to check against evidence.
- Rests on an assumption: Over millennia, the cellular self evolved to monitor its surroundings, detect threats, and produce anticipatory biobehavioral responses that gave the greatest adaptive advantage.
The paper relies on this without support.
Sleep plays a central role in regulating biological processes that affect social cognition, health, and behavior.
“Sleep is a critical human behavior that plays a central role not just in everyday life but in regulating biological processes that affect social cognition, health, and behavior.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The benefit-to-cost ratio of the inflammatory response is greatest when it upregulates quickly and downregulates shortly after a threat has passed.
“Like other neural and physiological systems, the benefit-to-cost ratio of the inflammatory response is greatest when it upregulates quickly and then downregulates shortly after a threat has passed.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Objective characteristics of the social environment influence the extent to which people regard their surroundings as socially safe versus threatening.
“Because objective characteristics of the social environment influence the extent to which people generally regard their surroundings as socially safe versus threatening”
The paper relies on this without support.
Humans are embedded in a series of social safety circles that independently and interactively shape experiences of social safety and threat.
“humans are embedded in a series of social safety circles that independently and interactively shape moment-to-moment and lifelong experiences of social safety and threat (see Figure 2).”
The paper relies on this without support.
Over millennia, the cellular self evolved to monitor its surroundings, detect threats, and produce anticipatory biobehavioral responses that gave the greatest adaptive advantage.
“which evolved over millennia to monitor the surrounding environment, detect potential threats, and mount anticipatory biobehavioral responses that conferred the greatest adaptive advantage.”
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
“The collective evidence linking systemic inflammation to the quality of social relationships and interactions is consistent with theory that threats to social safety (e.g., social conflict, isolation, rejection, exclusion) can undermine health (Slavich, 2020; also see Cole et al., 2015 for a related perspective on perceived social isolation and gene expression).”
From Social media use and systemic inflammation: The moderating role of self-esteem (2021) · cites this paper as Slavich, 2020
Citations
Cites
Eysenck, H. J. (1985) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(85)90087-7 · Cited by 32,038
The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.117.3.497 · Cited by 23,245
(1978) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 12,570
The social readjustment rating scale
Holmes, T. H., & Rahe, R. H. (1967) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(67)90010-4 · Cited by 11,560 · cited 1×
“One perspective, described by Holmes & Rahe (1967), argues that stressors can be ranked by the degree of change or upheaval that they typically cause, with greater change or upheaval in turn requiring greater adaptation.”
BackgroundSocial Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., & Layton, J. B. (2010) · PLoS Medicine · doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316 · Cited by 7,272 · cited 1×
“…reviewed data from 148 studies and 308,849 participants who were followed for an average of 7.5 years, for example, being socially well integrated was associated with a 91% increase in odds of survival [odds ratio (OR) = 1.91; 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.63, 2.23]] (Holt-Lunstad et al. 2010).”
BackgroundInfluentialEffects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition
Lupien, S. J., McEwen, B. S., Gunnar, M. R., & Heim, C. (2009) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn2639 · Cited by 6,256
Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review
Holt-Lunstad, J., Smith, T. B., Baker, M., Harris, T., & Stephenson, D. (2015) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691614568352 · Cited by 6,043 · cited 1×
“…loneliness (OR = 1.26; 95% CI [1.04, 1.53]), 29% for social isolation (OR = 1.29; 95% CI [1.06, 1.56]), and 32% for living alone (OR = 1.32; 95% CI [1.14, 1.53]) in adjusted models that control for relevant demographic and clinical risk factors (Holt-Lunstad et al. 2015, Stringhini et al. 2017).”
BackgroundInfluentialChronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span
Furman, D., Campisi, J., Verdin, E., Carrera-Bastos, P., Targ, S., Franceschi, C., Ferrucci, L., Gilroy, D. W., Fasano, A., Miller, G. W., et al. (2019) · Nature Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0 · Cited by 4,915 · cited 2×
“Otherwise, the response can heighten a person’s risk for viral infections and numerous inflammation-related conditions including anxiety, depression, asthma, heart disease, stroke, and cancer, as well as several metabolic, autoimmune, and neurodegenerative disorders (Furman et al. 2019).”
BackgroundSelf-citationUniversal dimensions of social cognition: warmth and competence
Fiske, S. T., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Glick, P. (2007) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.005 · Cited by 4,567 · cited 1×
“First, it motivates individuals to foster social safety by developing and maintaining social bonds with people who are friendly, helpful, predictable, dependable, sincere, and trustworthy (Fiske et al. 2007).”
BackgroundStructural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatic vessels
Louveau, A., Smirnov, I., Keyes, T. J., Eccles, J. D., Rouhani, S. J., Peske, J. D., Derecki, N. C., Castle, D., Mandell, J. W., Lee, K. S., et al. (2015) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature14432 · Cited by 4,413
Research works printed but not linked: 14
- Allbutt C., 1895, Contemp. Rev., 67, 210
- Babey SH, 2019, School Discipline Practices Associated with Adolescent School Connectedness and Engagement
- Bernard C., 1865, Introduction à L'étude de la Médecine Expérimentale
- Carver CS, 1999, Handbook of Personality, 553
- Clark DA, 1999, Scientific Foundations of Cognitive Theory of Depression
- Darwin CR., 1859, On the Origin of Species
- 10.2307/j.ctvc77f0d · DOI · Paper page
- OECD (Organ. Econ. Co-operation Dev.), 2011, Doing Better for Families
- Reid BM, 2019, Brain Behav. Immun
- Selye H., 1976, The Stress of Life
- Slavich GM., 2020, The Oxford Handbook of Stress and Mental Health, 519
- UNICEF, 2014, Hidden in Plain Sight: A Statistical Analysis of Violence Against Children
- Weiss JM, 1985, Stress and Coping, 93
- Zaki J., 2019, The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–300 of 508
On social health: Conceptualization, Correlates and PatterningPreprint
Doyle, D. M., & Link, B. G. (2022) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/m2ypw · Cited by 6
Hollinsaid, N. L., Pachankis, J. E., Bränström, R., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2022) · doi:10.31219/osf.io/xaz78 · Cited by 6
Tsomokos, D. I. (2026) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-025-02999-w · Cited by 5
“The link between distrust and psycho-pathology [54, 55] has been interpreted through the lens of Social Safety Theory [56–58], which considers generalized trust perceptions as an index of positive social safety schemas [59], namely, perceptions of social support, belonging, and acceptance, whereas…”
InfluentialTsomokos, D. I., Tiemeier, H. W., Slavich, G. M., & Rakesh, D. (2025) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291725101384 · Cited by 7
“Social Safety Theory (SST) provides a useful framework for understanding the roots of these mental health challenges (Slavich, 2020, 2022; Slavich, Roos, et al., 2023).”
Self-citationDefayette, A. B., Silverstein, S. M., & Pisani, A. R. (2024) · Schizophrenia Research · doi:10.1016/j.schres.2024.06.006 · Cited by 5
Abel, J., & Kellehear, A. (2023) · Lifestyle Medicine · doi:10.1002/lim2.76 · Cited by 5
van Leeuwen, L., Ruiter, A., Visser, K., et al. (2023) · Children · doi:10.3390/children10050872 · Cited by 4
“Social Safety Theory suggests that maintaining social bonds is a critical aspect of human behavior, and threats to social safety can cause psychological stressors such as shame [21].”
BackgroundInfluentialPolick, C. S., Ploutz-Snyder, R. J., Braley, T. J., Connell, C. M., & Stoddard, S. A. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0292233 · Cited by 4
“Traumatic stressors elicit many physiologic processes, including increased inflammation, reduced coping/resilience, poor health behaviors, and neurodevelopmental problems, contributing directly and indirectly to numerous acute and chronic health issues later in life [7, 9, 10].”
BackgroundNeighborhood safety perception and depressive symptoms in China: a moderated mediation relationship
Zhang, Y. (2024) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-024-02642-0 · Cited by 5
Bai, J., Zhang, C., Cui, J., Fan, M., Li, Y., Huang, L., & Wang, L. (2024) · Journal of Cereal Science · doi:10.1016/j.jcs.2024.103921 · Cited by 5
Piejka, A., Thayer, J. F., & Okruszek, Ł. (2024) · Psychophysiology · doi:10.1111/psyp.14622 · Cited by 6
Kim, L. Y., Rose, S. M. S., Mengelkoch, S., Moriarity, D. P., Gassen, J., Alley, J. C., Roos, L. G., Jiang, T., Alavi, A., Thota, D. D., et al. (2024) · Stress · doi:10.1080/10253890.2024.2401788 · Cited by 7
“…multiomics techniques but also a contextual approach that assesses the surrounding environment in which the person lives and that integrates into the equation the exposome, including pollution and other environmental contaminant exposures (see slavich, 2020, 2022; slavich et al., 2023).”
Self-citationPrincip, M., Langraf-Meister, R. E., Slavich, G. M., et al. (2022) · European Heart Journal - Case Reports · doi:10.1093/ehjcr/ytac255 · Cited by 5
“According to the Social Safety Theory, for example, increases in sympathetic arousal and inflammatory activity are most strongly triggered by stressors involving physical threats.(20) Therefore, the present data are consistent with a stressor characteristics perspective on TTS, whereby experiencing social and physical…”
ResultSelf-citationSex differences and Psychological Stress: Responses to the COVID-19 epidemic in ChinaPreprint
Yan, S., Xu, R., Stratton, T. D., et al. (2020) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-42213/v3 · Cited by 5
Mengelkoch, S., Moriarity, D. P., Novak, A. M., et al. (2023) · Preprints.org · doi:10.20944/preprints202310.0060.v1 · Cited by 5
Self-citationChild and adolescent psychiatry: challenges, solutions, opportunities, and future directions
Cortese, S., Arango, C., Aymerich, C., Catalan, A., Chetouani, M., Cohen, D., Coghill, D., Gabellone, A., Iniesta, R., Kadan, A., et al. (2026) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.70044 · Cited by 4
“Interventions aimed at supporting war-affected youth must be comprehensive, sustainable, and free from harm 247 .”
Chinese-Australians, media consumption, and the politics of belonging
Sun, W. (2024) · Continuum · doi:10.1080/10304312.2024.2439993 · Cited by 4
“Psychology researchers also tell us that while belonging is a basic biological need and a subjective feeling, it is nevertheless situated in the context of a specific set of social structures, norms, contexts, and experiences that one finds themselves in (Slavich 2020).”
Eilertsen, M., Hansen, T., Bidonde, J., Reneflot, A., Nilsen, T. S., Czajkowski, N. O., & Nes, R. B. (2025) · International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology · doi:10.1007/s41042-025-00258-6 · Cited by 7
“Historically described as the body’s non-specific response to demand (Selye, 1956), contemporary definitions of stress emphasize its psychobiological nature, shaped by individual appraisal, context, and chronicity (McEwen, 1998; Slavich, 2020).”
Hakala, V., Mielityinen, L., Peltonen, K., Laajasalo, T., & Ellonen, N. (2024) · Youth & Society · doi:10.1177/0044118x241296552 · Cited by 11
Lived Experiences of the Philippine Coast Guards Personnel in Performing their Functions
Abad, C. M. S., Nano, C. Y., Aguilar, J. G., et al. (2023) · Mediterranean Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences · doi:10.46382/mjbas.2023.7216 · Cited by 4
Wezyk, A. B., Arden-Close, E. J., & Turner‐Cobb, J. M. (2023) · Stress and Health · doi:10.1002/smi.3328 · Cited by 6
Wright, M. A., Giurgescu, C., Misra, D. P., Slaughter‐Acey, J., & Engeland, C. G. (2023) · Brain Behavior & Immunity - Health · doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100715 · Cited by 5
“As explicated by social safety theory (Slavich, 2020), perceiving one ’ s environment as safe or hostile (i.e., excessive social and/or physical threats) has implications for immune system functioning.”
BackgroundStress exposure, perceived stress severity, and their effects on health
Maltseva, K. (2024) · Sociology Theory Methods Marketing · doi:10.15407/sociology2024.01.187 · Cited by 9
Compassion as an Integrative and Integrating Therapeutic Process
Gilbert, P. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198888727.003.0011 · Cited by 4
Lorenz, T., Michels, N., Slavich, G. M., & Giletta, M. (2024) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.14060 · Cited by 4
Self-citationRelational ethics in immigrant families: The contextual therapy five‐dimensional framework
Glebova, T., Lal, A., & Gangamma, R. (2024) · Family Process · doi:10.1111/famp.13071 · Cited by 4
“Threats to social safety such as social conflict or exclusion are among the most powerful predictors of individual psychological well-being and physical health (Slavich, 2020).”
Rutar, M., Naterer, A., & Lavrič, M. (2025) · Journal of Trust Research · doi:10.1080/21515581.2025.2456270 · Cited by 12
“Overall, our findings are consistent with social safety theory (Slavich, 2020, 2022; Slavich et al., 2022), which posits that the development and maintenance of positive social bonds are essential to human well-being, and that threats to social safety – such as low trust in close relationships –…”
Malat, J., Johns‐Wolfe, E., Smith, T. C., Shields, G. S., Jacquez, F., & Slavich, G. M. (2020) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/1359105320963210 · Cited by 4
“Extant theory suggests that adverse experiences occurring over the entire life course can shape cognitive schemas of the self and social environment (Slavich, 2020), as well as views of oneself as a mother that can in turn affect birth intentions (Bachrach and Morgan, 2013; Elder, 1985).”
BackgroundSelf-citationLamarche, V. M. (2021) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1177/08902070211022119 · Cited by 7
“Rather, it is an adaptive response reflecting the value of close relationships in the defense against existential harms (Coan & Sbarra, 2015; Florian et al., 2002; Murray et al., 2018; Plusnin et al., 2018; Slavich, 2020).”
BackgroundArroyo, M., Rey, G. N., Tiburcio, M., & Martínez-Vélez, N. A. (2021) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-021-00669-x · Cited by 5
“The impact of these types of events can be explained by the stress they cause (Slavich, 2020).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSocial Media Posts from Friends during Late Adolescence as Predictors of Young Adult Physical Health
Szwedo, D. E., Davis, A. A., Fowler, C., Mikami, A. Y., & Allen, J. P. (2024) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-024-01945-4 · Cited by 4
“Sustained neural perceptions of threat have been associated with metabolic shifts such as increased basal glucose levels and alterations in immune functioning such as heightened in fl ammatory responses (Slavich, 2020).”
Pankova, N. B., Lebedeva, M. A., Noskin, L. A., et al. (2020) · Вестник Южно-Уральского государственного университета. Серия: Психология · doi:10.14529/jpps200210 · Cited by 4
Ono, N., Suzuki, S., Kawada, K., et al. (2022) · Journal of Veterinary Medical Science · doi:10.1292/jvms.22-0073 · Cited by 4
“Stress is the body’s response to external stimuli [15].”
BackgroundSocial networks, health, and well-being
Oleskiewicz, D., Brown, C. J., & Rook, K. S. (2022) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-91497-0.00010-2 · Cited by 4
Close relationships and subjective well-being
Buijs, V. L. (2024) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) · doi:10.33612/diss.916082280 · Cited by 4
Wilson, M. K., Wilson, D., Searle, A., & Mackintosh, S. F. (2025) · Journal of Pain · doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2024.104774 · Cited by 3
Hardarson, J., Guðmundsdóttir, B., Jonsson, G. S., Johannesdottir, B. M., Þórarinsdóttir, K., Tómasson, G., Holmes, E. A., Hauksdóttir, A., Valdimarsdóttir, U. A., Asmundson, G. J. G., et al. (2025) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2025.102981 · Cited by 4
Schwerdtfeger, A. R., Wekenborg, M., Tatschl, J. M., & Rominger, C. (2025) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1093/abm/kaaf014 · Cited by 5
“1,6 For example, applying an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design, Schwerdtfeger and Friedrich-Mai 7 observed that social interactions with close others were associated with increasing heart rate variability (HRV) (operationalized as the vagally mediated root mean squares of successive…”
Giacalone, R. A., & Valentine, S. R. (2025) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115404 · Cited by 5
Abbasi‐Asl, R., Keces, N., Mackin, M., Lerner, R. M., Dowling, E. M., Tirrell, J. M., Zhang, R., Olander, K., Hasse, A., Larkan, A., et al. (2025) · International Journal of Adolescence and Youth · doi:10.1080/02673843.2025.2540057 · Cited by 3
“…healthy human life, and threats to these relationships are a defining feature of both psychological and perceived stress, increasing the risk of disease and problems in behaviour, development, and learning (Slavich, 2020; see also Immordino-Yang et al., 2019; Mulligan, 2016; Slavich & Cole, 2013).”
Liu, H., Peng, Z., Wong, E. L., Jim, C. Y., Li, L., & Hou, W. K. (2025) · Health & Place · doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2025.103568 · Cited by 5
Grief and bereavement: A pre-registered systematic review of neuroimaging studies
Evstigneev, S. R., O'Connor, M., Wilhelm, F. H., Blum, D., Slavich, G. M., & Seiler, A. (2025) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106535 · Cited by 4
Self-citationThe cardiac correlates of feeling safe in everyday life: A Bayesian replication study
Schwerdtfeger, A. R., & Rominger, C. (2023) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.112277 · Cited by 4
Trachtenberg, E., Ruzal, K., Forkosh, O., & Bartal, I. B.-A. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-56979-2 · Cited by 4
“A safe social network can buffer these reactions by recognizing ’safe’ cues, which then moderate signals within these stress arousal systems, leading to a reduced peripheral response 83 .”
BackgroundGesundheitliche Langzeitfolgen von Zersetzung in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
Marheinecke, R., Maltusch, A., Nussmann, H. D., Spitzer, C., Engert, V., & Strauss, B. M. (2024) · Die Psychotherapie · doi:10.1007/s00278-024-00731-8 · Cited by 3
Gigli, V., Castellano, P., Ghezzi, V., Ang, Y., Schettino, M., Pizzagalli, D. A., & Ottaviani, C. (2024) · Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science · doi:10.1016/j.bpsgos.2024.100369 · Cited by 4
“…to which the social network is the primary source of safety (19) and of the social safety theory, which further hypothesizes that social isolation and rejection upregulate in fl ammatory activity mainly via bidirectional neural-immune communication, ultimately increasing all-cause mortality (20,21).”
The impact of momentary stress on autobiographical memory recall in a self-efficacy intervention
Rohde, J., Meine, L. E., Brown, A. D., & Kleim, B. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-80896-z · Cited by 6
Treadway, M. T., Betters, S. A., Cooper, J. A., Li, C.-X., Zhang, X., & Michopoulos, V. (2025) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-025-03334-2 · Cited by 3
“In highly socialized species such as humans and NHPs, the links between stress and adverse behavioral outcomes are greatest for circumstances in which the stressor involves social subordination, rejection, or isolation [30 – 32].”
Alley, J. C., Tsomokos, D. I., Mengelkoch, S., & Slavich, G. M. (2025) · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjc.12555 · Cited by 6
“In brief, Social Safety Theory posits that humans evolved to develop and maintain friendly social bonds that provide critical resources (e.g., food, water, shelter, physical safety) and reduce the risk of potential social conflict and physical injury (Slavich, 2020, 2022; Slavich et al., 2023).”
InfluentialSelf-citationMemmott‐Elison, M. K., Jorgensen-Wells, M. A., & Padilla‐Walker, L. M. (2021) · Social Development · doi:10.1111/sode.12568 · Cited by 3
Gray, Z. J., Shields, G. S., Sichko, S., Bui, T. Q., Vinograd, M., Alvarez, H. A. O., & Slavich, G. M. (2022) · Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100149 · Cited by 3
“, negative social evaluation) robustly predict increased depression symptom severity [13, 14] as well as overall biological and clinical functioning [15,16].”
BackgroundSelf-citationSelf-Dissociation as a Predictor of Alienation and Sense of Belonging in University Students
KARDUZ, F. F. A. (2023) · Journal of Family Counseling and Education · doi:10.32568/jfce.1328750 · Cited by 3
Childhood Racism and Cardiometabolic Risk in Latina Mothers Across the First Postpartum Year
Harris, R., Crandell, J., Taylor, J. Y., & Junior, H. P. D. O. S. (2024) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000001306 · Cited by 3
Gilbert, P. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198888727.003.0002 · Cited by 3
Social protection of the self-employed in the EU
Yaroshenko, O. M., Getman, A. P., Lutsenko, О. Y., Mohilevskyi, L. V., & Tkachuk, A. O. (2024) · SOCIOLOGIA E RICERCA SOCIALE · doi:10.3280/sr2024-133008 · Cited by 4
Clayton, M. G., Cole, S. W., Giletta, M., Hastings, P. D., Nock, M. K., Rudolph, K. D., Slavich, G. M., & Prinstein, M. J. (2025) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s095457942400186x · Cited by 4
Self-citationMoriarity, D. P., Ellman, L. M., Coe, C. L., et al. (2021) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2021.06.21.449259 · Cited by 3
“First, many theories and hypotheses are described in terms of “inflammation” (e.g., Dooley et al., 2018; Miller et al., 2009; Moriarity et al., 2018; Slavich, 2020), not individual proteins, underscoring a disconnect between theory and analysis.”
BackgroundSex differences and Psychological Stress: Responses to the COVID-19 epidemic in ChinaPreprint
Song, K., Xu, R., Stratton, T. D., et al. (2020) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-42213/v1 · Cited by 3
“Moreover, since the same preventive measures meant to limit the spread of an infection can paradoxically also heighten risks due to increased social con ict, isolation, devaluation, rejection, and exclusion, such efforts may be somewhat counterproductive[12].”
BackgroundHodges, H. R., & Abdi, S. M. (2023) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-96023-6.00018-x · Cited by 4
Watt, D. F. (2024) · Neuropsychoanalysis · doi:10.1080/15294145.2024.2344490 · Cited by 3
“…to consider the homeostatic nature of social attachment, and the related probability that modern environments create an “ evolutionary discordance ” – a signi fi cant gap between our basic need for social connection and what is readily/culturally available (Hidaka, 2012; Slavich, 2020; Watt, 2014b).”
BackgroundGruhn, M. A., Siciliano, R. E., Anderson, A. S., Vreeland, A., Henry, L. M., Watson, K. H., Slavich, G. M., Ebert, J. S., Kuhn, T. M., & Compas, B. E. (2024) · Stress · doi:10.1080/10253890.2024.2419668 · Cited by 5
“…is consistent with evidence that threat uniquely impacts emotion reactivity and regulation processes, including the modulation of the sNs and PNs (slavich, 2020, 2022), while deprivation impacts other neurobiological developmental pathways (e.g. cognitive functioning; Mclaughlin et al., 2014;…”
Self-citationA human working memory advantage for social network information
Andrews, J. L., Grunewald, K., & Schweizer, S. (2024) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2024.1930 · Cited by 4
“This is of particular importance given the human need to belong [49], and to identify risks to one’s social safety [25,50].”
Belonging and longing to belong: being LGBTQ+ in the Church
Yih, C. (2025) · Practical Theology · doi:10.1080/1756073x.2024.2437282 · Cited by 2
“…is constantly complemented and reinforced by the dynamic interactions individuals have within the social, cultural, and environmental contexts they are situated including the family, social circles, schools, work settings or religious communities (Allen 2020a,b; Hagerty et al. 1992; Slavich 2020).”
Protocol for project MHISS: Mental Health and Immunodynamics of Social Stress
Moriarity, D. P., Miller, A. C. M., Kaur, J., Prasad, R., Figueroa, M. B., & Slavich, G. M. (2025) · Brain Behavior & Immunity - Health · doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2025.100977 · Cited by 1
“This paradigm is also extremely well-suited for testing key hypotheses posited by Social Safety Theory, given the massive social upheaval experienced by first-year students moving far from home into college dorms (Slavich, 2020, 2022; Slavich et al., 2023).”
Self-citationAsian American Cultural Resources to Protect From Racial Trauma and to Promote Posttraumatic Growth
Jeung, R. M. (2025) · Journal of Psychology and Theology · doi:10.1177/00916471251320665 · Cited by 2
“Along with the four Fs of trauma response—fight, flight, freeze, and fawn—psychologists have identified a fifth response, that of friends (Slavich, 2020; Taylor, 2012; Taylor et al., 2000).”
Spousal bereavement enhances proinflammatory cytokine production to acute, psychological stress
Wu‐Chung, E. L., Brown, R. L., Suchting, R., Paoletti, J., Chen, M. A., LeRoy, A. S., Murdock, K. W., Heijnen, C. J., & Fagundes, C. P. (2025) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107498 · Cited by 4
Nan, Y., Ge, T., & Jiang, Q. (2025) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-025-06193-0 · Cited by 2
“The potency of a neighborhood’s safety perception lies in its capacity to interweave societal fabric, fostering interpersonal bonds that can mitigate the psychological tempests associated with depressive symptoms [19, 47].”
Barrera, J. A., Straube, L. D., Huml, Z., Yielder, R., Zion, S. R., Evans, K. M., Louis, K., Moriarity, D. P., Gasteiger, C., Slavich, G. M., et al. (2025) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2025.07.011 · Cited by 2
“Research suggests that alterations in immune processes may serve as one mechanism linking traumatic experiences with adverse mental health outcomes (Slavich, 2020; Slavich and Irwin, 2014; Slavich et al., 2023).”
Self-citationA history of social adversity is associated with adolescents’ ex vivo inflammatory response
Michels, N., McDade, T. W., Krause, K. C., Miller, A. A., & Giletta, M. (2025) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107620 · Cited by 2
van Asselt, A., Roke, Y., Begeer, S., & Scheeren, A. M. (2025) · Autism · doi:10.1177/13623613251376893 · Cited by 4
“However, especially when individuals encounter repeated rejection, heightened vigilance towards these experiences can be profoundly distressing (Slavich, 2020; Wojtyna et al., 2024).”
InfluentialHarris, R., Perreira, K. M., & Santos, H. P. (2025) · Biological Research For Nursing · doi:10.1177/10998004251410515 · Cited by 2
“Unpredictable and socially threatening environments that frequently activate the stress response system may exert the strongest direct in fl uence on the developing immune system (Kuhlman et al., 2017; Slavich, 2020).”
Nutritional modulation of biochemical pathways in stress response: A comprehensive review
Gometi, S. A., Ikpahwore, D. O., Evuen, U. F., Omo-Okoroh, M. O., Otovbo, E. J., Okwuenu, P. C., Isoje, A. O., & Onosakponome, I. (2026) · Food and Humanity · doi:10.1016/j.foohum.2026.101017 · Cited by 3
Barrett, C. B., & Schofield, H. K. (2026) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2026.107317 · Cited by 2
Rathi, K. K., Irfan, M., Malik, I. A., Saleem, U., Rais, Z., Kumari, V., Ashfaq, D., Khoja, A., Kumari, N., Taqvi, M. M., et al. (2026) · Discover Mental Health · doi:10.1007/s44192-026-00435-2 · Cited by 2
“Caregiver stress was measured using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) [5].”
Presence Without Belonging: A Conceptual Analysis of Loneliness in Autism
Srinivasan, H. (2026) · Autism in Adulthood · doi:10.1177/25739581261448524 · Cited by 2
Turner‐Cobb, J. M., Arden-Close, E. J., Portch, E., & Wignall, L. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19137986 · Cited by 4
“Whilst there is a large body of evidence in which perceived social support has been acknowledged as a key psychosocial factor influencing health outcomes, the mechanisms involved in this health-providing relationship are largely unclear [4], and social support is noted to have “one of the messiest literatures in psych…”
BackgroundResultChou, Y.-Y. P. (2023) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-04759-y · Cited by 3
“Further, depression can be viewed as a manifestation, not merely as an isolated clinical diagnosis, of broader issues of developmental influences and socio-environmental disparities (Slavich, 2020).”
Chen, R. X., Santee, A. C., Chang, K. K., & Starr, L. R. (2023) · Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment · doi:10.1007/s10862-023-10083-3 · Cited by 3
“Life stress is an important predictor of mental and physical health, with proximal and distal effects on biological, psychological, and social functioning (Lepore, 1997; Slavich, 2020).”
BackgroundBarrett, A.-M. Y., Cheng, T. W., Flannery, J., Mills, K. L., Fisher, P. A., McCann, C. F., & Pfeifer, J. H. (2024) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/dev0001684 · Cited by 1
Song, Z. (2024) · Advances in Journalism and Communication · doi:10.4236/ajc.2024.122012 · Cited by 3
Social Safety for Black Women in Perinatal Health Care: A Concept Analysis
Murrell, K. S., & Fleury, J. (2024) · Journal of Midwifery & Women s Health · doi:10.1111/jmwh.13642 · Cited by 2
İsmail, R., Shukor, M. S., Ganasegeran, K., & Manaf, M. R. A. (2024) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-024-01391-0 · Cited by 2
“It can manifest as physical and psychological tension, prompting individuals to actively seek coping strategies or mechanisms to manage or alleviate their stress (Schneiderman et al., 2005; Slavich, 2020).”
González‐García, H., Álvarez-Kurogi, L., Andreu, J. M. P., Cordón, J. T., López, R. C., & Sánchez, J. S. (2025) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.18828 · Cited by 4
“In this sense, the increase in stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms related to contagion ( Chen et al., 2020 ) could generate, due to preventive measures, social con fl ict, isolation, devaluation, rejection and exclusion ( Slavich, 2020 ).”
Parra, L. A., Helm, J. L., & Hastings, P. D. (2025) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107476 · Cited by 2
Enhancing Perceptions of Social Support and Belonging in Surgery Residency Programs
Chen, J. H., Keyes, S., DeGregorio, V. L., & Gardner, A. K. (2025) · Journal of surgical education · doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2025.103612 · Cited by 4
Childhood Emotional Abuse and Somatic Symptoms: The Mediating Effect of Self‐Hate
Rossini, P. G., Gazzillo, F., & Kealy, D. (2025) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.70008 · Cited by 2
Liao, Q., Yuan, J., Li, S., & Liao, Q. (2025) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/70336 · Cited by 3
“Based on social safety theory, social connectedness and affiliations (perceived as being connected and affiliated with others) serve as an important factor that buffers the emotional impacts of major environmental hazards [18].”
Adolescent relational roots of adult blood pressure: A 14-year prospective study
Allen, J. P., Loeb, E. L., Tan, J. S., Davis, A. A., & Uchino, B. N. (2021) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579421000419 · Cited by 2
“Such conflict and rejection has been posited to lead to perceptions of lack of safety, which have been reliably linked to numerous longterm stress responses (Slavich, 2020).”
BackgroundWeaving a colorful cloth: Centering education on humans’ emergent developmental potentialsPreprint
Immordino‐Yang, M. H., Nasir, N. S., Cantor, P., et al. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/qhezk · Cited by 2
Evolution, Compassion, and Wellbeing
Gilbert, P. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197567579.003.0005 · Cited by 1
Wenstrom, S. T., Nyberg, C., & Kuortti, K. (2023) · doi:10.7176/jep/14-35-05 · Cited by 2
Pelletier, P., & Drozda‐Senkowska, E. (2024) · International Journal of Social Psychology Revista de Psicología Social · doi:10.1177/02134748241249879 · Cited by 1
Parasocial Relationships as a Predictor of General Belongingness among Senior High School Students
Pailma, H. V., Vergara, J. Q., Sanchez, M., & Espino, R. (2025) · Journal of interdisciplinary perspectives · doi:10.69569/jip.2024.0654 · Cited by 1
Lengvenytė, A., Olié, É., Cognasse, F., Hamzeh‐Cognasse, H., Alacreu‐Crespo, A., & Courtet, P. (2025) · Brain Behavior & Immunity - Health · doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2025.100984 · Cited by 3
“The Social Signal Transduction Theory suggests that the immune system has evolved to detect social threats, such as rejection or isolation, as precursors to physical harm, thereby initiating preparatory inflammatory responses (Slavich, 2020).”
Troxel, W., Seelam, R., Perez, L. G., Davis, J. P., & D’Amico, E. J. (2025) · Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1002/jcop.70011 · Cited by 1
Bybee, S., Tedford, N. J., Grigorian, E. G., Luther, B. L., Guo, J., Wong, B. G., Diamond, L., & Wallace, A. S. (2025) · Frontiers in Communication · doi:10.3389/fcomm.2025.1558250 · Cited by 1
“GUTS and Social Safety Theory indicate that humans do not need clear evidence to feel threatened.”
InfluentialElection worry, political identity, and subsequent physical health in the United States
Relihan, D. P., Estes, K. D., Jovanović, B., Garfin, D. R., Silver, R. C., & Holman, E. A. (2025) · SSM - Mental Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmmh.2025.100476 · Cited by 1
Association between perceived stress and MAFLD partially mediated by smoking and drinking
Gong, Y., Wang, S., Jiang, J., Zeng, Q., Wang, W., Zheng, Y., & Lv, W. (2025) · Frontiers in Medicine · doi:10.3389/fmed.2025.1569992 · Cited by 1
Loneliness trajectories and dementia risk: Insights from the HUNT cohort study
Aunsmo, R. H., Strand, B. H., Bergh, S., Hansen, T., Mika Kivimaki, B., Köhler, S., Krokstad, S., Langballe, E. M., Livingston, G., Matthews, F. E., et al. (2025) · Alzheimer s & Dementia Diagnosis Assessment & Disease Monitoring · doi:10.1002/dad2.70154 · Cited by 1
Cummins, T. M., Maltby, O., Bellander, M., Pontén, M., Bjureberg, J., Stahl, D. R., O’Connor, R. C., McMahon, S. B., Millar, S., Mathews, I., et al. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders Reports · doi:10.1016/j.jadr.2025.100975 · Cited by 1
Metadata
- Authors
- Slavich, G. M.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Corresponding author
- Slavich, George M.
- ORCID
- Slavich, George M.
- Venue
- Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Published
- 2020-05-07
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 265-295
- ISSN
- 1548-5943 (ISSN-L)
- 1548-5951
- PMC
- PMC7213777
- OpenAlex
- W3010515129
- Semantic Scholar
- d8142b2861b06dc7bd40175c1223b71e1205ed01
- Cited by
- 502
- References
- 159
- Citations by year
- 2026: 130 · 2025: 90 · 2024: 81 · 2023: 71 · 2022: 57 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 19
- FWCI
- 5.10
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Annual Review of Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (K08 MH103443, 23958)
- National Institutes of Health (23958)
- National Institute of Mental Health (K08MH103443)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Keywords
- social bonds, social danger, psychological stress, neuroimmune interactions, inflammation, viral infection, social rejection, social isolation, evolutionary psychology, disease risk, threat response
- MeSH terms
- Biological Evolution, Humans, Inflammation, Psychological Theory, Safety, Social Behavior, Stress, Psychological
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.
A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-08, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-08 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
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
