1. Affiliation: Beneficial or Detrimental? Linnea M. Heintz, University of Wisconsin-Stout Advisor: Jennifer Byrd-Craven, Oklahoma State University Introduction The use of social support and affiliation, as a coping strategy to assist in the alleviation of stress typically improves immune function, thereby improving the overall health (Uchino, 2006). We used the “Tend and Befriend” (Taylor et al., 2000) model approach of sex differences in affiliation after stress in the context of a mortality cue, and the benefits that affiliation has in reducing physiological stress levels and thereby enhancing overall health. This study attempted to better understand sex differences in stress, affiliation, and the effects it has on emotion and health. We hypothesized that females would be higher than males in emotional contagion. The females higher in emotional contagion would report a greater desire to affiliate after a stressor, and that emotional contagion would be related to reports of overall health. Method  Participants were 165 Oklahoma State University undergraduates, in same-sex groups of 3 to 4 individuals.  A series of questionnaires assessing demographics, overall health, personality, and Emotional Contagion (a measure of susceptibility to others’ emotions, with Happiness, Love, Fear, Anger, and Sadness subscales).  Randomly assigned to either complete the mortality salience prime (experimental condition) or the dental pain prime (control condition).  A 5-minute video of either male typical‘out-group threat’ stressor consisting of footage of the Westboro Baptist Church military funeral protests, or a female typical stressor of crying babies.  A measure of desire to affiliate after the video stressor. Results A multivariate analysis of variance showed that males and females were significantly different on all subscales of emotional contagion; with the exception of anger. The females scored higher on all subscales.  Both males and females, Overall Health predicted Happiness and Mood. (β =.219, p =.005; β =.196, p =.013).  After the video, Overall health negatively predicted Anxiety. (β = -.257, p =.001)  Females, Fear predicted Affiliation (β =.234, p =.030)  Males, Sadness and Love predicted Affiliation, (β =.252, p =.03; β=.377, p =.001).  Males, Sociability predicted Sadness (β =.275, p =.017)  Females, Sociability predicted Happiness (β =.383, p =.000). Discussion Affiliation facilitates in coping and serves as a buffer for stressful situations, as long as social relationships are supportive (Taylor, 2006). General health risks are associated with social isolation and poor social support.  In both sexes, overall health predicted the Happiness subscale, suggesting that healthier individuals are more likely to experience happiness as a result of the positive mood of those around them.  Women who were higher on the Fear subscale were more likely to report a desire to affiliate after the video stressors, potentially demonstrating that fearful responses to stressors may facilitate affiliation in women.  Men were also likely to report the desire to affiliate after the stressors, if they were high on Sadness and Love subscales. This demonstrates that the pattern of emotional contagion and the desire to affiliate differs for men and women. References Taylor, S. E. (2006). Tend and Befriend : Biobehavioral Bases of Affiliation Under Stress. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15, 273-277. Taylor, S. E., Klein, L. C., Lewis, B. P, Gruenewald, T.L., Gurung, R. A. R, Updegraff, J. A. (2000). Biobehavioral responses to stress in Females: tend-and-befriend, not fight-or- flight.Psychological Review. American Psychological Association, 107(3), 411-429. Uchino, B. N. (2006). Social Support and Health: A Review of Physiological Processes Potentially Underlying Links. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(4)