EMOTIONAL HEALTH Touch may stave off violence

Fears of abuse allegations stymie innocent physical contact, experts say.
By DANIELA LAMAS
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Imagine going though the day without touch, without a casual hug, pat on the shoulder, or even a handshake.
This would be lonely; it might even be harmful, particularly for children. A growing body of research suggests that American children and adolescents are dangerously touch-deprived.
"It's a very serious problem. If monkeys are deprived of touch, they kill each other," said Tiffany Field, who directs the University of Miami's Touch Research Institute.
The institute's studies have shown touch can reduce pain and stress hormones, alleviate symptoms of depression and help premature infants gain weight, among other benefits. But psychologists and school counselors say that particularly with today's pervasive sexual-abuse accusations, there are significant barriers to a large-scale shift in how Americans view touch.
"I think parents really need to make sure kids are getting some touch, a back rub before they go to bed or while they're doing their homework," Field said. "Even for adolescents -- they love their heads being rubbed, their backs being rubbed. It doesn't have to be anything more."
Research results
One repercussion of the lack of human touch could be increased aggression, Field said in a telephone interview. Anthropological studies have documented that primitive cultures with less affectionate touch are more violent than geographically close cultures with more touching.
With this premise, Field traveled to France, which has one of the lowest rates of adolescent male homicide. She observed preschool children on playgrounds with their parents and friends both in France and in Miami, and found that U.S. children touched less and were more aggressive. The preschoolers in Miami grabbed toys from their peers twice as much as the French children and "fussed" more than seven times as much, while their parents touched them three times less frequently.
And although this study doesn't prove that lack of touch increases aggression, Field said, monkey studies suggest one possible way this link might work. Monkeys who have been deprived of touch have shown a drop in the level of serotonin, she wrote. Their levels of cortisol increase, which makes them more agitated and aggressive. At the same time, massage therapy has been shown to lower the level of cortisol and increase the level of serotonin -- hence, a relationship between increased touch and decreased aggression. But this is preliminary research, Field said.
Further observations
Field's researchers also recorded differences in touch among French and American adolescents hanging out at McDonald's. The 20 high school seniors observed in Paris spent more time touching casually -- rubbing each other's backs while talking, for instance.
In contrast, those in Miami kept their hands occupied with "self-stimulation," like playing with the rings on their fingers, cracking their knuckles and twirling their hair.
Field has studied teacher touching in classrooms and found that the amount of touching decreased as the children grew from infant to toddler to preschool age and the children's aggressive behaviors increased.