Lipidemic Effects of Kissing are Mediated by Stress: Results from a National Probability Sample

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have identified associations between affectionate communication and blood lipid levels but been limited by small, homogenous samples and failed replication attempts. Moreover, no study has tested the prediction derived from affection exchange theory that stress mediates the association between affectionate behavior and health. Using secondary analyses of data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Refresher study Biomarker Project, this paper remedies these limitations by testing the prediction that stress mediates the association between kissing and serum levels of triglycerides, high-density lipoproteins, and low-density lipoproteins using a large probability sample of U.S. American adults (N = 863). Results indicate significant indirect effects of kissing frequency on triglycerides and high-density lipoproteins for participants who reported kissing seven or more times in the previous month.

KEYWORDS:

• Kissing
• lipids
• health
• affection exchange theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Data from the MIDUS Refresher Biomarker Project are available to researchers at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/NACDA/studies/29282.

2. Although total serum cholesterol was also assayed, the analysis of its constituent components – triglycerides, LDL, and HDL – provided an opportunity to test the prediction of AET with greater specificity than in earlier studies. Total cholesterol was not analyzed here in addition to triglycerides, LDL, and HDL to avoid redundancy and elevated Type I error.

3. An anonymized version of the preregistration is viewable at https://aspredicted.org/blind.php?x=559tu2.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.