Childhood friendship can benefit health in adults
Childhood friendships may carry health benefits into adulthood, according to a study.
The multi-decade study of men suggests that boys who spent more time with friends as children tended to have lower blood pressure and lower BMI as men in their early 30s.
"These findings suggest that our early social lives may have a small protective influence on our physical health in adulthood, and it's not just our caregivers or financial circumstances, but also our friends who may be health protective," says psychological scientist.
The fact that the association was evident over a 16-year span and was not explained by several other potential factors gives the author confidence in the results.
"Although this wasn't an experiment, it was a well-controlled longitudinal study in a racially diverse sample -- so it provides a strong clue that being socially integrated early in life is good for our health independent of a number of other factors such as personality, weight in childhood, and the family's social status in childhood," she explains.
In many previous studies, researchers have found an association between adults' social well-being - including their close relationships and sources of social support - and health-related outcomes including cardiovascular risk factors. The authors wondered whether this association might be evident much earlier in life, in childhood and adolescence.
To find out, the researchers examined data from the Study, a longitudinal study following cohorts of boys who were initially recruited to participate as students in public schools. Specifically, they examined data from 267 individuals in the youngest cohort.
The participants' parents reported how much time their children spent with their friends during an average week, beginning when the boys were about 6 years old and continuing through age 16. The study also included data on various individual characteristics (e.g. extraversion and hostility in childhood; physical health in childhood and adulthood) and family and environmental factors (e.g., socioeconomic status in childhood, social integration in adulthood).
Analyses revealed that boys who spent more time with their friends in childhood and adolescence, as reported by their parents, had healthier blood pressure and body mass index at age 32. This association held even after the authors accounted for other potential influences, including physical health in childhood and social integration in adulthood.
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The multi-decade study of men suggests that boys who spent more time with friends as children tended to have lower blood pressure and lower BMI as men in their early 30s.
"These findings suggest that our early social lives may have a small protective influence on our physical health in adulthood, and it's not just our caregivers or financial circumstances, but also our friends who may be health protective," says psychological scientist.
The fact that the association was evident over a 16-year span and was not explained by several other potential factors gives the author confidence in the results.
"Although this wasn't an experiment, it was a well-controlled longitudinal study in a racially diverse sample -- so it provides a strong clue that being socially integrated early in life is good for our health independent of a number of other factors such as personality, weight in childhood, and the family's social status in childhood," she explains.
In many previous studies, researchers have found an association between adults' social well-being - including their close relationships and sources of social support - and health-related outcomes including cardiovascular risk factors. The authors wondered whether this association might be evident much earlier in life, in childhood and adolescence.
To find out, the researchers examined data from the Study, a longitudinal study following cohorts of boys who were initially recruited to participate as students in public schools. Specifically, they examined data from 267 individuals in the youngest cohort.
The participants' parents reported how much time their children spent with their friends during an average week, beginning when the boys were about 6 years old and continuing through age 16. The study also included data on various individual characteristics (e.g. extraversion and hostility in childhood; physical health in childhood and adulthood) and family and environmental factors (e.g., socioeconomic status in childhood, social integration in adulthood).
Analyses revealed that boys who spent more time with their friends in childhood and adolescence, as reported by their parents, had healthier blood pressure and body mass index at age 32. This association held even after the authors accounted for other potential influences, including physical health in childhood and social integration in adulthood.
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Labels: adults, benefits, childhood, friendships, influence, lower BMI, lowers BP, physical health, protective
posted by G S Iyer at 10:40 PM
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