Lesson 6 - Be a Social Animal
Investigators measure the availability of close personal relationships asking if you have:
| Yes | No | |
| Someone special whom you can lean on | ||
| Someone who feels very close to you | ||
| Someone to confide in | ||
| Someone to share feelings with |
Other researchers who measure social support might ask questions like:
| Yes | No | |
| If you were broke, is there a friend who would loan you money? | ||
| If you were sick, is there a friend who would help take care of your children | ||
| until you felt better? (If you don't have children, how about your pets or plants?) |
If most of the answers to these types of questions are "No", you might have a higher risk of disease and death from all causes, according to many scientific studies that have been done. These include increased risk of:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Pregnancy complications
- Some cancers