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NUANCES interpersonal relationshipsINFLUENCEINFWENCE OUR HEALTH NEW STUDY SHOWS

ambivalent relationships naiseraisenaiseraisenatse our blood pressure

anyone ever pounded wall wilfedwolfed down gallon

ice cream frustrating relationship agree julianne holt lunstad standing assistant professor

positive health effects socializing flip side recognizing psychology found ambivalentrelationshipsambivalent relationships raisebloodour pressure

relationships created equal brigham young

university professor went great lengths measure health

effect relationships based varying quality feel both positive negative toward hopejulianne holt lunstad assistant professor psychology expectation something positive then you dont

colleagues found dealing those whom get support you wanted very distressingmixed conflicted feelings raise our blood pressure fact same time study results reaffirmed sensestudy participants blood pressure higher those situations security tend find among family members said kathleen C

interacting people whom clearly light professor director stress health researchnegative feelings program university north carolina school medicine

conventional wisdom stress bad our health important contribution field health psy-

chologypersonal relationships good social support adds growing literature healthhelps us deal our stress holt lunstad said benefits associated close family ties light said

relationships cause interpersonal stress cant just investigators used sophisticated approach found

lump our relationships together people think do people tend frequent positive interactions

someone might feel ambivalent toward mother you love family members spouses even do

very much overbearing critical good friend negative interactions relatives blood pressure levels do

whoschos lots fun yet very competitive rise much negative interactions occur

holt lunstad reports findings new issue people may reason why people strong family

american psychological association journal health psychology ties live longer experience better quality life

assisted four authors university utah relationships shown positive influence

holt lunstad arranged 102 study subjects wear portable common cause death industrialized countriesblood pressure monitors mostly concealed clothes coronary heart disease way relationships may affect heartthree days participants pressed button five minutes disease through impact blood pressure

every social interaction record blood pressure accurate measurement blood pressure taken while personlogged electronic monitors kept detailed going through daily life until holt lunstads study

diaries those whom dealt each day answered little research examined whether characteristics social

questions relationships researchers took extra relationships affect ambulatory blood pressure level

steps account relatively few times participants forgot prior research social relationships health primarily

measure blood pressure record interaction looked blood pressure laboratory setting holt lunstadanalyzing results accounting factors like said our study everyday lives

physical activity diet researchers found relation-

ships

interacting people recorded blood pressuremixed feelings seem unsettling least while doing methodology affords nice

related blood pressure outright hostility naturalism realism prior research shown

youre interacting those you feel aversive highly predictive clinical outcomes

negative toward these people predictable you either extra precision study holt lunstadavoid them you discount them you know what look beyond general axioms declare social relationships

expect them holt lunstad explained person you healthy negative relationships raise blood pressure lab

28 MARRIAGE & FAMILIES

or clinic. By recognizing nuance in the relationships, people can begin to evaluate their social networks to consider who might be most beneficial to approach in various circumstances.

"We might know some people who are unreliable in some situations but who are there for us in others," said Holt-Lunstad. "We can be strategic about our coping. If we can avoid seeking support from them in unfavorable circumstances and instead seek them out in situations in which we can count on them, or seek support from someone who is more consistently helpful or understanding, we might be better off."

Research continues in the effort to offer more clues about how we can better understand our relationships and other aspects of our everyday lives to better our long-term health.

"Psychology is really gaining in influence now that our leading cau ses of death have a high behavioral component," said Holt­Lunstad. "Many of them, like heart disease, develop slowly over time and are chronic, so people need to adjust their lifestyles to prevent and deal with those illnesses. "

Co-authors on the study are Bert N. Uch ino, Timothy W. Smith, Chrisana B. Cerny and Jill B. Nealey-Moore, all of the Department of Psychology and Health Psychology Program at the University of Utah. 1

Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad is conducting a new health marriage study that measure two

physiological processes that impact health: blood pressure and salivary cortisol. Participants will be

asked to wear a portable blood pressure monitor for 24 hours and take four saliva samples while going about their normal daily activities. Participants will

need to come into a laboratory at BYU twice - at the beginning of the study and at the end -

and to complete two questionnaires.

Participants can be married or single. Married couples must be legally married and both members of the couple must be willing to

participate. Participants must be between the ages of 25 and 70 years old and fluent in English.

Each participant will be compensated $60.

Those interested in participating should contact Professor Holt-Lunstad at 801-422-3522 or bye-mail at ju lianne.holt-Iunstad@byu .edu.

UPDATE ON THE JOSEPH F. SMITH BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Construction on the new five-level Joseph F. Smith Building on the Brigham Young University campus is moving forward quickly. This bui ld­

ing was planned and designed to repl ace the Smith Family Living Cente r. It will be the new home of much of the Col lege of Humanities (including the Hu manities Research Center, the Center for Language Stud ies, and the university's language departments),

units from the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences, the School of Family Life, the Family Studies Center, Women's Research Center, and chi ld and family studies labs.

Heating systems and window installations have begun on the south end of the building. Also, brick masonry (which sta rted on the south end) is three-fourths com plete.

The contractor is ahead of schedule and expects to complete construction in August or September of 2004. Inside the Smith Building will be a theater, a large auditorium,

27 classrooms, and 401 faculty and administrative offices. There will be

!i!=;;~~~~SS~a~la:rg:e,:th:re:e-~lev~el parking garage beneath the building This bu ildi ng's construction was ti==:~:::Ii.-! paid for through pri vate

donations.