Negative News Increases Women’s Stress

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Negative News Increases Women’s Stress

– Reported, October 16, 2012
By Ivanhoe Health Correspondent Marianne Thornton

 

(Ivanhoe Newswire) – While many people like to keep up with current news, some of the stories, like those on natural disasters and terrible events, can bring down a person’s mood. According to a new study, negative news stories may do even more to women.

The researchers from the University of Montreal measured the cortisol levels in the saliva of 60 men and women, half of which read neutral news stories like the opening of a park while the other half read negative news stories about things like murders or accidents. In each group the participants were separated by gender.

The participants then did a series of tests involving memory and intellect. This was done so the researchers could evaluate the individuals’ reactions to stress. The participants were called the next day and asked to talk about whichever news stories they read.

Saliva samples used to test for cortisol were taken at the beginning of the experiment, after the participants read the news stories, and then also after doing the series of tests. Higher cortisol levels in the saliva indicate higher stress levels.

The results showed that the negative news stories did have some effect on the women’s stress response, although not the men’s. The study found that negative news stories raised stress levels in women when confronted with a stressful situation later on.

“What we saw is that the cortisol did not increase in response to the news reading, but the women who read the negative news and then were stressed with the psychosocial stressor were more reactive to that stressor,” explains Marie-France Marin, the lead author of the study.

So the women who had read the negative news stories had higher cortisol levels after being exposed to a stressor after the reading than those women who read neutral news stories.

The women participants could also recall more details from the negative news stories than the male participants.

“We’re not sure exactly why women are more reactive after reading negative news stories and also have more memory, but it could be an evolutionary incentive though where women are generally more empathetic than men,” says Marie-France Marin.

Avoiding all negative news stories would be extremely difficult if not impossible.

Marie-France Marin suggests, “If you know you’re going to have a pretty stressful day, it might not be the best time to read negative news stories.”

(Source: Interview with Marie-France Marin, lead author, Published in PLOS One, October, 2012)