The study is one of the first to track the positive health benefits of
altruistic behavior, say Carolyn Schwartz, Sc.D., of the University of
Massachusetts Medical School and colleagues.
“The findings really emphasize how helping others can help oneself,” Schwartz
says.
Schwartz and colleagues analyzed data collected by the Presbyterian Church
for 2,016 congregation members. The members were asked about how often
they “made others feel loved and cared for” and “listened
to others” in the congregation, and how often they received this
attention in return.
The members also answered survey questions about their mental and physical
health. Most of the congregation members were in good physical and mental
health to begin with, experiencing only normal levels of anxiety and depression.
While the researchers did not find any significant differences in physical
health specifically related to giving and receiving help, they concluded
that giving help was a better predictor of good mental health than receiving
help.
But feeling overwhelmed by others’ demands — giving until
it hurts — can have negative psychological effects, according to
the researchers.
“Although our findings suggest that people who help others experience
better mental health, our findings also suggest that giving beyond one’s
own resources is associated with worse reported mental health,” Schwartz
says.
Church leaders, older individuals, women and those who took satisfaction
from prayer were more likely to be helpers rather than receivers, according
to Schwartz and colleagues.
People who give help to others may be less likely to focus inward on their
own anxieties and depression or more apt to see their own troubles in perspective,
leading to better mental health, say the researchers.
Alternatively, it may be that “people who are functioning well psychologically
are better able and hence more likely to give help,” Schwartz says.
