Expanding Your Social Circle may Extend Your Lifespan

How does social connection improve health? Strong connections with friends and other social groups improve overall mental health and well-being.

The time people spent with family over the festive period could have improved their health, according to new research published in the journal Science Advances. This research examines how social bonds relate to health and psychological well-being.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Kent, Nottingham Trent University (NTU), and Coventry University, used self-reported data from more than 13,000 people across 122 countries, gathered during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social Psychology
Social psychology is the branch of psychological science that is mainly concerned and perturbed with understanding how the presence of others affects our very thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

‘Social connectedness generates a positive feedback loop of social, emotional, and physical well-being and even lengthens your life.’

Surveys assessed people’s strength of bonding with close social circles, such as family and friends, as well as with extended groups, such as country, government, and humanity. People’s pandemic-related health behaviors and mental health and well-being were also measured.

Bonding with Family and Friends can Make you Healthier

Results show that only bonding with family, rather than other groups, is linked to engaging positively with behavior which can improve health. Bonded people were vastly over-represented among those who engaged in health behaviors.

Despite people with strong family bonds constituting only 27% of the entire sample, they constituted 73% of those who engaged in social distancing, 35% of those who washed hands, and 36% of those who wore a mask ‘a lot’ or more.

The study also found that having strong bonds with both close social circles and extended groups is associated with better mental health and well-being. Importantly, higher the engagement in health behaviors better the reported psychological well-being with less anxiety and depression.

Social Connections: The Key to Good Life

These findings recommend that public health messaging focus on smaller networks as well as multiple groups, particularly in times of crisis when individuals should be encouraged to share their positive health behaviors with their close social circles.

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It is also suggested that healthcare systems can reduce the reliance on pharmaceutical treatments by using social prescribing to support individuals who do not have these bonds in their life.

This research speaks to the universal need to belong – this is one of the reasons we felt it was so important to include a truly diverse sample from across the globe. Wherever you are in the world, other people matter to you.

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At times of turmoil, such as during disasters, social crises, or pandemics, our social bonds can be key to receiving support. At the same time, having strong social connections is crucial for promoting mental health.

This research once again proves that humans are very much social animals, who benefit from and rely on, their communities in more ways than one. In challenging times this is even more pronounced.

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Government policies should consider these psychological needs and mechanisms and involve local authorities and grassroot level organizations for maximum efficiency and well-being in times of disaster.

Source-Eurekalert