Communities, which included the greatest number of the most sympathetic members, would flourish best, and rear the greatest number of offspring. — Darwin 1871
It is been long understood that positive social connection is important to human health. Seppala et al. published a comprehensive overview of the impact of social connection on our well-being and the negative effect of loneliness.
[1] “development of positive relationships with others in the social world—is a primary psychological need and motivator essential for human development and survival” Fratiglioni et al. found that social connection was important in elderly patients in particular the quality of connection. Positive and affectionate connections resulted in lower levels of dementia.
[2] This work highlights the importance of meaningful connections. A group of researchers conducted studies in which they found that social exclusion decreases prosocial behavior as measured by donations, volunteering, helping behavior, and cooperation. (Twenge et al. 2007, 59).
[3] This again demonstrates the importance of social connection and goes back to Darwin’s statement above. Seppala et al along with others found that social connection appears to serve as a buffering effect in the face of life stressors.
“Several decades of correlational research and more recent experimental research suggest that social connection is of crucial importance to human life. Social connection is linked to health, well-being, social competence, and increased survival as well as a prosocial orientation toward the world, helping to create a highly beneficial and mutually reinforcing set of variables.” Play for Peace creates opportunities for social connection between kids, teens, and adults increasing resilience in communities stressed by conflict. Find out more about what we do and support our work.
Bibliography [1] Seppala, E., Rossomando, T., & Doty, J. (2013). Social connection and compassion: Important predictors of health and well-being. Social Research 80: 411-430. [2] Fratiglioni, Laura, Hui-Xin Wang, and Kjerstin Ericsson. 2000. “Influence of Social Network on Occurrence of Dementia: A Community-Based Longitudinal Study.” Lancet 355: 1315–1319. [3] Twenge, Jean M., Roy F. Baumeister, C. Nathan DeWall, Natalie J. Ciarocco, and J. Michael Bartels. 2007. “Social Exclusion Decreases Prosocial Behavior.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92: 56–66.
