Accentuating the Positive: Contribution of Positive Relations With Others and Daily Interpersonal Interactions to Longevity

OBJECTIVE: Social connection has well-established benefits for individual health and longevity. Positive Relations with Others, a distinct form of social connection, benefits health and longevity independent from more established forms, including social integration. Our primary aim is to investigate these forms of social connection as predictors of longevity. We also explore daily positive interpersonal interactions and daily interpersonal stressors as predictors of longevity beyond the contributions of social connection. METHODS: Data for this study (N=1757) are from the national longitudinal Midlife in the United States study (MIDUS), the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE), and the National Death Index. Participants for the NSDE study were randomly selected from the MIDUS sample and completed short telephone interviews about daily experiences for 8 consecutive days. RESULTS: Positive Relations with Others was significantly associated with a reduced mortality hazard (HR=0.88, P=.02). When daily interpersonal interactions were added, daily positive interpersonal interactions (HR=0.93, P=.001) predicted lower mortality hazard and reduced the association between Positive Relations with Others and mortality (HR=0.91, P=.067). Neither social integration nor daily interpersonal stressors were associated with mortality . CONCLUSIONS: Findings reveal the health benefits of cultivating social ties that are mutual and meaningful, and also of engaging in daily positive interpersonal interactions. Cultivating positive relations operates in conjunction with routine positive interpersonal interactions to promote health and longevity.