Unlike Fine Wine, Crabby People Don't Age Well

[Guest guest]

Been aware if this and here it is, lol. Unlike Fine Wine, Crabby People

Don't Age Well

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Published: 02/15/08

FRIDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- There's new evidence that getting along

with others is more than a key to pleasant human interaction. It also appears to

be good for your health.

Researchers who studied a survey of almost 700 older adults found that those

who got along with their relatives, friends and neighbors were less likely to

report health problems and physical limitations.

The findings don't prove a cause-and-effect relationship between social life

and health. Still, " the take-home message is that conflict in your life may have

important impacts on your physical health, " said study lead author T.

Newsom, associate professor at the Portland State University School of Community

Health in Oregon.

There's nothing really new about a supposed link between attitude and health,

but Newsom said his study was unique, because it looked specifically at

interactions between people.

Newsom and his colleagues looked at the results of a multi-year national

survey of people aged 65 to 90. A total of 666 people completed the survey, in

which researchers asked them questions about their lives and their health.

Many of the questions were designed to reveal whether the study participants

were prone to have " negative social interactions " with other people, Newsom

said. The questions asked whether " people have interfered or meddled in your

personal matters, have they acted unsympathetically or been critical of you. We

asked them in a very general way, " he said.

The survey didn't ask whether the participants were the instigators of

negative encounters -- by being crabby or cranky, for instance -- or the victims

of others who made their lives difficult.

The researchers found that those who reported more negative social encounters

suffered greater declines in health.

" What we suspect is that there's some impact on the immune system, but there

are other kinds of things that might be happening as well, " Newsom said. " It may

be that when there's a great deal of interpersonal conflict going on in

someone's life, they're not able to take care of medical conditions as well. "

The findings were published in the journal Health Psychology.

The study authors noted that their research had limitations. It only looked at

senior citizens and relied on their own estimates of their health status instead

of physical examinations, for one, and only examined changes over two years.

Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, director of the Ohio State University College of

Medicine's Division of Health Psychology, said the new study came from " a group

of excellent investigators. " But, she added, she would like to have seen more

analysis of whether the study participants were depressed.

" When people are blue, they tend to be overly sensitive to negative

interactions, to feel that others are often unsympathetic -- and then they

behave in ways that tend to elicit even more negative behaviors from others, "

Kiecolt-Glaser said. " They're cranky and critical and cantankerous. If you're

seeing the world through dark-colored glasses, you're more likely to focus on

how unsympathetic or insensitive other people act toward you, and there's a big

element of self-fulfilling prophecy. "

Newsom acknowledged that it's no easy task to make people get along better.

But, he said, studies have shown that one approach -- conflict-resolution

training -- actually works.

More information

To learn more about conflict-resolution training, visit the University of

Wisconsin.

Last reviewed: 02/15/2008 | Last updated: 02/15/2008

Quote of the Day

" Don't let other people tell you what you want. "

– Pat Riley

[Guest guest]

well see now this just takes me back to the I'm in pain because I

deserve to be in pain theory.

>

> Been aware if this and here it is, lol. Unlike Fine Wine,

Crabby People Don't Age Well

>

> Print This Page Send to a Friend

> Published: 02/15/08

> FRIDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- There's new evidence that

getting along with others is more than a key to pleasant human

interaction. It also appears to be good for your health.

> Researchers who studied a survey of almost 700 older adults found

that those who got along with their relatives, friends and neighbors

were less likely to report health problems and physical limitations.

> The findings don't prove a cause-and-effect relationship between

social life and health. Still, " the take-home message is that

conflict in your life may have important impacts on your physical

health, " said study lead author T. Newsom, associate professor

at the Portland State University School of Community Health in Oregon.

> There's nothing really new about a supposed link between attitude

and health, but Newsom said his study was unique, because it looked

specifically at interactions between people.

> Newsom and his colleagues looked at the results of a multi-year

national survey of people aged 65 to 90. A total of 666 people

completed the survey, in which researchers asked them questions about

their lives and their health.

> Many of the questions were designed to reveal whether the study

participants were prone to have " negative social interactions " with

other people, Newsom said. The questions asked whether " people have

interfered or meddled in your personal matters, have they acted

unsympathetically or been critical of you. We asked them in a very

general way, " he said.

> The survey didn't ask whether the participants were the

instigators of negative encounters -- by being crabby or cranky, for

instance -- or the victims of others who made their lives difficult.

> The researchers found that those who reported more negative

social encounters suffered greater declines in health.

> " What we suspect is that there's some impact on the immune

system, but there are other kinds of things that might be happening

as well, " Newsom said. " It may be that when there's a great deal of

interpersonal conflict going on in someone's life, they're not able

to take care of medical conditions as well. "

> The findings were published in the journal Health Psychology.

> The study authors noted that their research had limitations. It

only looked at senior citizens and relied on their own estimates of

their health status instead of physical examinations, for one, and

only examined changes over two years.

> Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, director of the Ohio State University

College of Medicine's Division of Health Psychology, said the new

study came from " a group of excellent investigators. " But, she added,

she would like to have seen more analysis of whether the study

participants were depressed.

> " When people are blue, they tend to be overly sensitive to

negative interactions, to feel that others are often unsympathetic --

and then they behave in ways that tend to elicit even more negative

behaviors from others, " Kiecolt-Glaser said. " They're cranky and

critical and cantankerous. If you're seeing the world through dark-

colored glasses, you're more likely to focus on how unsympathetic or

insensitive other people act toward you, and there's a big element of

self-fulfilling prophecy. "

> Newsom acknowledged that it's no easy task to make people get

along better. But, he said, studies have shown that one approach --

conflict-resolution training -- actually works.

> More information

> To learn more about conflict-resolution training, visit the

University of Wisconsin.

> Last reviewed: 02/15/2008 | Last updated: 02/15/2008

>

>

> Quote of the Day

> " Don't let other people tell you what you want. "

> – Pat Riley

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