Generally speaking, nurturing a strong friendship increases the level of happiness and improves the chances of healthy aging. These results are all the more verifiable in unequal regions of the world or in those whose culture advocates individualism.
- Friendship keeps us away from loneliness and helps us live longer and healthier lives.
- Although the definition changes around the world, the beneficial effects of friendship remain the same.
- The positive effects of friendship work best in countries with individualistic cultures or in areas with greater inequality.
Having friends to rely on in life is important. Maintaining strong bonds with friends is one of the good attitudes to adopt to stay healthy. Previous studies have already shown that loneliness or the absence of friendship can have serious consequences on our well-being, both physical and psychological. This time, researchers from Michigan State University (USA) examined the benefits of friendship, and how this changes across countries and cultures. The results were published in the journal Frontiers of Psychology on January 18, 2021.
This study is the largest of its kind since it was conducted with 323,200 participants from 99 countries. Previous studies only looked at comparing a few specific cultures to each other, but did not have such a comprehensive view. The data comes from several sources, including sets of statistics on friendship, health and happiness, economic variables and cultural variables.
According to the results, those who benefit the most from their friends are those who invest in friendship. According to the researchers, they enjoy better physical and psychological health, a finding that is all the more true among the elderly and the less educated. Moreover, these advantages are even more significant in cultures that are individualistic, unequal or constraining.
The value of friendship
“Friendships are one of the untapped resources that people can tap into to lead happier and healthier lives. They literally cost nothing and have health and wellness benefitssays William Chopik, assistant professor of psychology at Michigan State University and lead author of the study. We’ve found that valuing friendship is good for people’s health and well-being, no matter where they live. However, viewing friendships as an important part of life is more important in some cultures than in others.”
According to William Chopik, the main interest of friendship is that it improves the life of each of the participants. Although this definition is not the same reality all over the world, the moments we share with people whose company we love bring us a lot. So, in terms of health, friendship helps us live longer and healthier lives. “People who come from more privileged backgrounds have many resources that contribute to their health and happiness, but it seems that for those who don’t have these resources, friendships may be a particularly important factor in their lives.”, concludes the researcher.
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