Friend's presence sustains progesterone response after social exclusion in women, active support offers transient boost

Social exclusion, a prevalent form of indirect aggression, carries substantial social and health burdens. While oxytocin and cortisol have been extensively studied in the context of social stress and affiliation, progesterone also plays a crucial role in affiliative motivation and may be sensitive to social threats. Understanding how social support, particularly from close friends, modulates these endocrine responses is vital for developing interventions against the negative impacts of social stress.

Female participants (N = 31) provided salivary progesterone samples at three time points: baseline, immediately following a social exclusion task (Yale Interpersonal Stressor; YIPS), and after a reunion phase. During the reunion, participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: active support (venting with a friend), passive support (friend present but no discussion), or no support (alone). Salivary progesterone levels were measured using an unspecified assay method to determine hormonal trajectories across these phases.

Progesterone levels significantly increased from baseline to post-exclusion, remaining elevated during the subsequent reunion phase. The specific trajectories of progesterone response varied significantly based on the type of social support received. > Passive support, where a friend was merely present without discussion, effectively sustained elevated progesterone levels across all study phases. In contrast, active support, involving direct discussion and venting with a friend, resulted in only a transient boost in progesterone. Participants in the no support condition, who were alone during the reunion, exhibited flat progesterone responses, indicating no sustained elevation after the initial exclusion-induced increase. These findings highlight the nuanced impact of different forms of social support on progesterone dynamics following social stress.