Negative Interaction and Health

Negative social interactions, variously termed negative social exchanges, negative or harmful support, social strain, or interpersonal conflict, appear to have potent effects on mental health, but their effects on physical health have been less widely studied. Because humans have a great need for affiliation, disruptions in social relationships are an important source of stress. Given the widely recognized role of stress in relation to health, negative social interactions are likely to be an important psychosocial determinant of health as well.

Whereas past research has focused primarily on the social support's beneficial effects on health, recent literature has begun to explore the consequences of negative social interactions. These negative interactions consist of contacts with others that are hurtful or harmful. Research has revealed that negative interactions are far more distressing than positive interactions are uplifting in spite of the fact that negative interactions occur relatively rarely in comparison with positive interactions. Support, which is often categorized into domains according to their function, includes instrumental or tangible support (providing actual physical help), emotional support (giving encouragement or other reassurances), informational support (offering helpful advice or information), and (more rarely) companionship (being included in events and activities with friends or family). Negative interactions may transpire in parallel domains of social functioning such as inadequate, unwanted, or unsuccessful attempts at help; criticisms or expressions of dislike; invasions of privacy or unsolicited advice; and exclusion from social activities. It should also be emphasized that negative interactions can range in severity from major transgressions, such as physical or financial abuse, to minor annoyances, such as thoughtless actions by acquaintances.

Although they are sometimes measured in parallel ways, negative interactions can be distinguished from positive interactions and social support. It is easy to imagine that the more social support an individual has, the less conflict he or she will experience; however, this is not necessarily the case. The absence of support does not automatically mean there is social conflict, especially if support is not expected in the first place. For example, if an older adult is not in need of assistance with work around the home, a lack of help from others is not problematic. Similarly, the presence of conflict is not necessarily indicative of less support. Disputes over one matter with a daughter, for example, does not necessarily mean that the same daughter will be unsupportive on other matters. Furthermore, difficulties with one individual often provide the impetus for a person to seek out others for support. Research findings appear to mirror these complex associations between negative interactions and support. Although some studies report that less negative interaction is associated with more support, others find the reverse. Still others find no relationship at all. There are a number of reasons why negative interactions might not imply less support, including that the two occur simultaneously in different life domains or with different individuals.

[Page 412]Negative interactions have been measured in a variety of ways. Most commonly, researchers measure the frequency with which certain types of negative interactions (e.g., criticisms) occur over a period of weeks or months. This approach parallels the measurement of received support. Unlike measures of social support, which commonly focus on instrumental and emotional domains, the domains of negative interactions that have been assessed by researchers have not been as consistent across studies. A less common approach to measuring negative interaction is to count the number of family members or friends in the social network who are sources of disagreement or conflict. This approach is parallel to social network measurement of positive or supportive ties. Although researchers have measured perceptions of social interactions less often, there is good reason to do so more often. Some supportive attempts can be interpreted as interference, meddling, or otherwise unwelcome. A number of studies have found that support can cause more distress, rather than less distress, under some circumstances, although the exact reasons for this type of failed support and the circumstances under which it occurs are not yet fully understood by researchers. Similarly, negative interactions may vary in the degrees to which they cause distress.

...