Does laughing have a stress-buffering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study.

Positive affect is associated with alleviating mental and physiological stress responses. As laughter is a common physiological operationalization of positive affect, we investigated whether the effects of experiencing a stressful event on stress symptoms is lessened by frequency and intensity of da...

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Main Authors: Thea Zander-Schellenberg, Isabella Mutschler Collins, Marcel Miché, Camille Guttmann, Roselind Lieb, Karina Wahl
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235851&type=printable
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author Thea Zander-Schellenberg
Isabella Mutschler Collins
Marcel Miché
Camille Guttmann
Roselind Lieb
Karina Wahl
author_facet Thea Zander-Schellenberg
Isabella Mutschler Collins
Marcel Miché
Camille Guttmann
Roselind Lieb
Karina Wahl
author_sort Thea Zander-Schellenberg
collection DOAJ
description Positive affect is associated with alleviating mental and physiological stress responses. As laughter is a common physiological operationalization of positive affect, we investigated whether the effects of experiencing a stressful event on stress symptoms is lessened by frequency and intensity of daily laughter. Using an intensive longitudinal design, we ambulatory assessed the self-reported experience of stressful events, stress symptoms and the frequency as well as the intensity of laughter in university students' daily lives. Our hierarchical ecological momentary assessment data were analyzed with multilevel models. The results support the stress-buffering model of positive affect: We found that the frequency of laughter attenuated the association between stressful events and subsequent stress symptoms. The level of intensity of laughter, however, was found to have no significant effect. Future studies should use additional psychophysiological indicators of stress and straighten out the differential contributions of frequency and intensity of daily laughter.
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publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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spelling doaj-art-80058e21d72d4836ae5e7ff8b99720032025-08-20T02:00:46ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01157e023585110.1371/journal.pone.0235851Does laughing have a stress-buffering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study.Thea Zander-SchellenbergIsabella Mutschler CollinsMarcel MichéCamille GuttmannRoselind LiebKarina WahlPositive affect is associated with alleviating mental and physiological stress responses. As laughter is a common physiological operationalization of positive affect, we investigated whether the effects of experiencing a stressful event on stress symptoms is lessened by frequency and intensity of daily laughter. Using an intensive longitudinal design, we ambulatory assessed the self-reported experience of stressful events, stress symptoms and the frequency as well as the intensity of laughter in university students' daily lives. Our hierarchical ecological momentary assessment data were analyzed with multilevel models. The results support the stress-buffering model of positive affect: We found that the frequency of laughter attenuated the association between stressful events and subsequent stress symptoms. The level of intensity of laughter, however, was found to have no significant effect. Future studies should use additional psychophysiological indicators of stress and straighten out the differential contributions of frequency and intensity of daily laughter.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235851&type=printable
spellingShingle Thea Zander-Schellenberg
Isabella Mutschler Collins
Marcel Miché
Camille Guttmann
Roselind Lieb
Karina Wahl
Does laughing have a stress-buffering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study.
PLoS ONE
title Does laughing have a stress-buffering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study.
title_full Does laughing have a stress-buffering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study.
title_fullStr Does laughing have a stress-buffering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study.
title_full_unstemmed Does laughing have a stress-buffering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study.
title_short Does laughing have a stress-buffering effect in daily life? An intensive longitudinal study.
title_sort does laughing have a stress buffering effect in daily life an intensive longitudinal study
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0235851&type=printable
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