Українська Quizzes
165 articles with scientific sources
Six Habits

Evidence-based guidance on food, movement, sleep and relationshipsACLM · USA

Home · Social Connection

Arguments and health: how hostile conflict slows wound healing

Updated Six Habits Editorial Team
The short answerHow we argue affects health. In an experiment with married couples, small wounds healed more slowly after a hostile argument than after a supportive discussion, and in the most hostile couples they healed at only 60% of the speed of low-hostility couples. A meta-analysis linked marital quality to better health.

Key points

What the study showed

At Ohio State University, Janice Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues gave 42 married couples small blister wounds on the arm, then had them have a supportive discussion one visit and a discussion of a marital disagreement another visit. Wounds healed more slowly after conflict discussions. Couples who were highly hostile across both visits healed at only about 60% of the rate of low-hostility couples and had higher levels of inflammatory cytokines (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2005).

A meta-analysis of 126 studies found that higher marital quality is linked to better health (Robles et al., 2014), and social support buffers the effects of stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985).

How to argue in a healthier way

Frequently asked questions

Is it better to avoid arguing?

No. Avoiding conflict entirely can also be harmful. The goal is to disagree respectfully and repair afterward.

What are signs of a healthy argument?

Staying on topic, listening, avoiding contempt and name-calling, taking breaks and making up.

Sources

  1. Kiecolt-Glaser et al. (2005). Hostile Marital Interactions, Proinflammatory Cytokine Production, and Wound Healing. Archives of General Psychiatry 62(12):1377. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.12.1377
  2. Robles et al. (2014). Marital quality and health: A meta-analytic review.. Psychological Bulletin 140(1):140-187. doi:10.1037/a0031859
  3. Cohen et al. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis.. Psychological Bulletin 98(2):310-357. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310

Prepared according to our evidence methodology and the principles of lifestyle medicine. For education only; it does not replace advice from your doctor.

Keep reading

Social Connection

Grandparents: how caring for grandchildren is linked to longer life

What the Berlin Aging Study found about grandparents who help with grandchildren, why helping others outside the family matters too and why moderation counts.

 Social Connection

Losing a partner: how to support yourself and others after widowhood

What a meta-analysis found about widowhood and mortality, why the first months are especially risky and how family and friends can help.

 Social Connection

Faith communities and health: what studies show

What a study of 74,000 U.S. nurses found about attending religious services and mortality, possible explanations and why the findings are about community, not one belief.

Related topics from other pillars

Stress

Social support as a buffer against stress

What the classic stress-buffering hypothesis says, how perceived support protects health and why asking for help is a skill.

Social Connection tools

Quiz

Three-item loneliness scale (UCLA-3)

Three questions used in major U.S. studies of loneliness.

Quiz

De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale (6 items)

Measures emotional and social loneliness.

Quiz

Oslo Social Support Scale (OSSS-3)

Three questions about who you can count on.

 PDF · Worksheet

My connections map

A worksheet for mapping your social network and planning contact.

PDF · Tracker

"One get-together a week" tracker

A monthly tracker of social contact.

PDF · Cards

Family dinner conversation cards

24 questions for phone-free conversation at the table.