Randomized controlled evaluation of the psychopsysiological effects of social support stress management in healthy women

Heimgartner, N. (Nadja)¹, Meier, S. (Sibylle)¹, Hochuli, S. (Stefanie)¹, Ponti, S. (Svetlana)¹, Arpagaus, S. (Silvana)¹, Kappeler, F. (Flurina)¹, Gaab, J. (Jens)^1
1Zwitserland

 

Submission type

Oral only

Scheduled

Poster, Beurs van Berlage , Grote Zaal

Introductie

Considering the increasing prevalence of stress, approaches to mitigate stress-related processes become a matter of public health. Since supportive social interactions contribute substantially to mental and physical health, we set out to develop and evaluate a social support stress management (SSSM) intervention.

Materiaal en methodes

Healthy women were randomly assigned to SSSM or a waitlist control condition. Measurements included self-report questionnaires of perceived stress and social support at pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up and physiological and emotional stress responses during a standardized stress protocol.

Resultaten

The intervention significantly reduced perceived stress in comparison to the control condition, but perceived stress levels returned to baseline at follow-up. Conditions did not differ in their physiological stress responses in the standardized stress protocol. However, participants in SSSM showed a significantly attenuated state anxiety response in comparison to those in the control condition.

Conclusie

The SSSM had the expected – and stress-buffering – effects on subjective parameters, but only as long as the social support was provided in terms of the intervention. Future research on SSSM should focus on the sustainablity of its effects as well as examine subjects reporting low levels of supportive social support.

Auteurs