posted on February 8, 2007 06:04:05 PM new
Just thought I'd post something apolitical for a change. This is a fascinating study, I think. (Sorry for all the little margin arrows!)
>>>UCLA STUDY ON FRIENDSHIP AMONG WOMEN
>>>> >> By Gale Berkowitz
>>>> >> A landmark UCLA study suggests friendships between women are special.
>>>> >> They shape who we are and who we are yet to be. They soothe our
>>>> >> tumultuous inner world, fill the emotional gaps in our marriage, and
>>>> >> help us remember who we really are. By the way, they may do even
>>>> >> more.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Scientists now suspect that hanging out with our friends can actually
>>>> >> counteract the kind of stomach-quivering stress most of us
>>>> >> experience on
>>>> >> a daily basis. A landmark UCLA study suggests that women respond to
>>>> >> stress with a cascade of brain chemicals that cause us to make and
>>>> >> maintain friendships with other women. It's a stunning find that has
>>>> >> turned five decades of stress research---most of it on men---upside
>>>> >> down.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> "Until this study was published, scientists generally believed
>>>> >> that when
>>>> >> people experience stress, they trigger a hormonal cascade that
>>>> >> revs the
>>>> >> body to either stand and fight or flee as fast as possible," explains
>>>> >> Laura Cousino Klein, Ph.D., now an Assistant Professor of
>>>> >> Biobehavioral
>>>> >> Health at Penn State University and one of the study's authors.
>>>> >> "It's an
>>>> >> ancient survival mechanism left over from the time we were chased
>>>> >> across
>>>> >> the planet by saber-toothed tigers.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Now the researchers suspect that women have a larger behavioral
>>>> >> repertoire than just "fight or flight." "In fact," says Dr. Klein,
>>>> >> "it
>>>> >> seems that when the hormone oxytocin is released as part of the
>>>> >> stress
>>>> >> responses in a woman, it buffers the "fight or flight" response and
>>>> >> encourages her to tend children and gather with other women instead.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> When she actually engages in this tending or befriending, studies
>>>> >> suggest that more oxytocin is released, which further counters stress
>>>> >> and produces a calming effect. This calming response does not
>>>> >> occur in
>>>> >> men", says Dr. Klein, "because testosterone---which men produce in
>>>> >> high
>>>> >> levels when they're under stress---seems to reduce the effects of
>>>> >> oxytocin. Estrogen", she adds, "seems to enhance it."
>>>> >>
>>>> >> The discovery that women respond to stress differently than men
>>>> >> was made
>>>> >> in a classic "aha!" moment shared by two women scientists who were
>>>> >> talking one day in a lab at UCLA. "There was this joke that when the
>>>> >> women who worked in the lab were stressed, they came in, cleaned the
>>>> >> lab, had coffee, and bonded", says Dr. Klein." When the men were
>>>> >> stressed, they holed up somewhere on their own. I commented one
>>>> >> day to
>>>> >> fellow researcher Shelley Taylor that nearly 90% of the stress
>>>> >> research
>>>> >> is on males. I showed her the data from my lab, and the two of us
>>>> >> knew
>>>> >> instantly that we were onto something."
>>>> >>
>>>> >> The women cleared their schedules and started meeting with one
>>>> >> scientist
>>>> >> after another from various research specialties. Very quickly, Drs.
>>>> >> Klein and Taylor discovered that by not including women in stress
>>>> >> research, scientists had made a huge mistake: The fact that women
>>>> >> respond to stress differently than men has significant
>>>> >> implications for
>>>> >> our health. It may take some time for new studies to reveal all
>>>> >> the ways
>>>> >> that oxytocin encourages us to care for children and hang out with
>>>> >> other
>>>> >> women, but the "tend and befriend" notion developed by Drs. Klein and
>>>> >> Taylor may explain why women consistently outlive men. Study after
>>>> >> study
>>>> >> has found that social ties reduce our risk of disease by lowering
>>>> >> blood
>>>> >> pressure, heart rate, and cholesterol.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> "There's no doubt," says Dr. Klein, "that friends are helping us
>>>> >> live."
>>>> >> In one study, for example, researchers found that people who had no
>>>> >> friends increased their risk of death over a 6-month period. In
>>>> >> another
>>>> >> study, those who had the most friends over a 9-year period cut their
>>>> >> risk of death by more than 60%. Friends are also helping us live
>>>> >> better.
>>>> >> The famed Nurses' Health Study from Harvard Medical School found that
>>>> >> the more friends women had, the less likely they were to develop
>>>> >> physical impairments as they aged, and the more likely they were
>>>> >> to be
>>>> >> leading a joyful life. In f act, the results were so significant, the
>>>> >> researchers concluded, that not having close friends or
>>>> >> confidantes was
>>>> >> as detrimental to your health as smoking or carrying extra weight!
>>>> >>
>>>> >> And that's not all! When the researchers looked at how well the women
>>>> >> functioned after the death of their spouse, they found that even
>>>> >> in the
>>>> >> face of this biggest stressor of all, those women who had a close
>>>> >> friend
>>>> >> confidante were more likely to survive the experience without any new
>>>> >> physical impairments or permanent loss of vitality. Those without
>>>> >> friends were not always so fortunate.
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Yet if friends counter the stress that seems to swallow up so much of
>>>> >> our life these days, if they keep us healthy and even add years to
>>>> >> our
>>>> >> life, why is it so hard to find time to be with them? That's a
>>>> >> question
>>>> >> that also troubles researcher Ruthellen Josselson, Ph.D., co-
>>>> >> author of
>>>> >> "Best Friends: The Pleasures and Perils of Girls' and Women's
>>>> >> Friendships (Three Rivers Press, 1998). "Every time we get overly
>>>> >> busy
>>>> >> with work and family, the first thing we do is let go of friendships
>>>> >> with other women," explains Dr. Josselson. "We push them right to the
>>>> >> back burner. That's really a mistake because women are such a
>>>> >> source of
>>>> >> strength to each other. We nurture one another. And we need to have
>>>> >> unpressured space in which we can do the special kind of talk that
>>>> >> women
>>>> >> do when they're with other women. It's a very healing experience."
>>>> >>
>>>> >> Taylor, S. E., Klein, L.C., Lewis,B. P., Gruenewald,
>>>> >> T. L., Gurung, R.A.R., & Updegraff, J. A. (2000).
>>>> >> "Female Responses to Stress: Tend and Befriend, Not
>>>> >> Fight or Flight", Psychological Review, 107(3), 41-429.
_____________________
Thought for the day: Men are like fine wine . . They start out as grapes; and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with. ~Dave Barry
posted on February 8, 2007 06:21:31 PM new
I believe the part about women having friends..it is a good thing...however, not EVERY woman feels the need to "tend " to anyone when stressed nor the need to clean...I believe these are learned responses...if women were told from birth that their "duty" was to go fishing when stressed, then that's what they'd want to do.
posted on February 8, 2007 06:22:42 PM new
profe--Sorry, I don't think it's on the market--yet.
_____________________
Thought for the day: Men are like fine wine . . They start out as grapes; and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with. ~Dave Barry
posted on February 8, 2007 07:06:49 PM new
darn, oh well...
mingo, I disagree. While lots of behavior is learned, don't you think the most important ones are instinctual, built-in, and further, don't you think there are sex specific differences in humans? I do. I see it in higher animals all the time. Where do humans get off thinking they're so much different?
posted on February 8, 2007 08:21:22 PM new
"""mingo, I disagree. While lots of behavior is learned, don't you think the most important ones..."""
Who exactly decides which are the most important?
""""are instinctual, built-in,"""
Oh, c'mon, profe, a built in need to clean ??? How VERY convenient for MEN to think so """"
and further, don't you think there are sex specific differences in humans?"""
Yes, of course there are ...some have vaginas and some have penises...
NEITHER one should determine your preferences, likes, dislikes, career, jobs at home, who changes a diaper, or what kind of car you drive....
"""" I do. I see it in higher animals all the time. Where do humans get off thinking they're so much different?"""
Higher animals ???Don't know what you mean by that but your key word should be "thinking" ...we should THINK...that is what SHOULD seperate us from any animal.
posted on February 9, 2007 04:06:04 AM new
Mingo, the only reference to cleaning in the article is from a joke. The bigger issue is that there are differences in the way men and women respond to stressful situations, and that those differences are built in. There are sex specific differences noted in most all higher species. Why would people be any different?
"And we need to have unpressured space in which we can do the special kind of talk that women do when they're with other women. It's a very healing experience."
What nonsense! What is the "special" kind of talk? Do these women bond in the "special" fact that they are still, after all these years, oppressed by men and relegated to "clean" in order to reduce stress? The truth is that any activity that diverts your mind from stressors is good. It's a pity that so many women have discovered nothing more interesting or fulfilling than cleaning a house or engaging in some "special kind of talk" in their little corner of "unpressured space"
Friends are good relievers of stress regardless of gender.
posted on February 9, 2007 07:44:53 AM new
Helen sober:
""What nonsense! What is the "special" kind of talk? Do these women bond in the "special" fact that they are still, after all these years, oppressed by men and relegated to "clean" in order to reduce stress? The truth is that any activity that diverts your mind from stressors is good. It's a pity that so many women have discovered nothing more interesting or fulfilling than cleaning a house or engaging in some "special kind of talk" in their little corner of "unpressured space"
Friends are good relievers of stress regardless of gender. """"
Helen drunk as usual :
"""Another classic observation by classic!"""
From a very intelligent statement to drooling sexist remark of a caveman....Helen, hop back on the wagon
posted on February 9, 2007 07:46:27 AM new
Wasn't there a similar conversation here before about women sharing secrets and bonding for emotional wholeness and it turned into an argument because some of us weren't like that and didn't believe all that crap?
"There was this joke that when the women who worked in the lab were stressed, they came in, cleaned the lab, had coffee, and bonded", says Dr. Klein." When the men were stressed, they holed up somewhere on their own."
Ya, the men went out in the barn with a bottle of Old Overcoat.
posted on February 9, 2007 09:27:30 AM new
I would never have guessed my posting of this fascinating article would become controversial. Good grief.
Some of you women can point to yourselves as exceptions to the rule, but I don't know how you can summarily dismiss the study as rubbish. An "exception to a rule" is just that--and that means there's still a "rule." Something my scientist husband has noted all his adult life is that a study is done, the facts are published, and someone (emphasis on "one" comes forth to say it can't be true because HE (or SHE) is different from that. That's not logical thinking and shows a basic lack of knowledge about the scientific method.
I didn't see it as demeaning, and I'm a raging feminist, have been since the late 60s. When I'm stressed, I go to the kitchen and cook up a large pot of something good. I have lots of women friends in whom I confide and vice versa, and I feel sorry for any woman who doesn't have at least one female confidante.
_____________________
Thought for the day: Men are like fine wine . . They start out as grapes; and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with. ~Dave Barry
posted on February 9, 2007 09:45:39 AM new
Sorry, Roadsmith, I object to the people who make the "rule".....
Sexism is so ingrained that most studies on sex differences are colored by the attitudes of the people doing the studies.
And, most sexist habits ARE trained/learned...just watch the Saturday morning cartoons aimed at children...watch all the sexism on TV...children spend a great deal of time watching TV(sadly). And there's so many other examples of directing children to their "correct" little sexist pigeon hole.
Telling women that's it's "normal" for THEM to clean and bake when stressed is just plain wrong....it's stereotyping, pigeon-holing..oh, and sexist.
There shouldn't even BE exceptions...like the woman I know who, when stressed, goes out and runs 5-6 miles....cleaning never entered her head...does that make her abnormal ????? NO! It makes her HUMAN.
And if more women QUIT cleaning and tending they'd have LESS STRESS !!!
When I get stressed I have a drink...my sister goes fishing, another friend rides her ATV like a maniac...another goes to auctions...another goes horseback riding...
I don't consider any of them abnormal by any means.....
posted on February 10, 2007 01:45:23 PM new
Everyone handles stress in different ways....
My way works for me. Pounding on bread dough or scrubbing a pot sure beats breaking things or punching holes in the walls or hitting someone that desperately needs the snot slapped out of them.
Other times I might settle in with a glass of wine, or go fishing or hunting, or grab that book that's been calling out to me..
Sometimes I need to do something physical, sometimes I need to "escape".
posted on February 10, 2007 02:22:00 PM new
Women who have experienced those 'special' friendships are blessed, imo. Those who don't have them or have never had that experience, I feel sorry for.
============
I have also read many women say, when asked if they'd rather work for a woman or a man boss, they've often stated they'd rather work for a man any day.
I believe there's many GOOD reasons for that. Men don't tend to be so petty, picky, demanding, vindictive nor competitive [on the whole]. They don't get as emotionally involved either as women tend to become.
On the issue of dealing with stress.....each woman finds her own way to work at reducing her stress. And most of whatever works is fine as long as it doesn't become addictive, imo.
