Touch promotes emotional and autonomic recovery following virtual social exclusion in early adolescents.
5 affiliations
- 1Developmental Psychology and Socialization Department (DPSS), University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
- 2Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), Chair of Acoustic and Haptic Engineering, Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.
- 3Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
- 4Department of the Arts, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
- 5Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
Abstract
Social exclusion threatens the fundamental need for belonging and disrupts emotional and physiological regulation. This becomes particularly crucial during adolescence, when navigating complex social relationships is a key developmental challenge. Although gentle touch can reduce emotional distress and facilitate autonomic regulation, research on these effects in adolescents remains sparse. Here, we investigated whether tactile stimulation modulates adolescents' responses to virtual social exclusion using an immersive virtual reality Cyberball paradigm combined with subjective and autonomic measures. Early adolescents (N = 67) experienced virtual ostracism followed by either affective touch or a control auditory stimulus. Compared with the auditory condition, affective touch was associated with a more positive post-exclusion affective state and lower perceived arousal. Although cardiac indices were not significantly altered by social exclusion itself, participants receiving touch showed lower heart rate, reduced sympathetic activation, and greater parasympathetic activity than those receiving auditory stimulation. Exploratory correlational analyses further indicated that these effects were more pronounced in adolescents reporting higher loneliness. Together, these findings suggest that touch supports emotional adjustment following virtual social exclusion and promotes a shift toward a more parasympathetic-dominant autonomic state during a developmental period characterized by heightened sensitivity to social evaluation.
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BibTeX
@article{longa2026touch,
title = {{Touch promotes emotional and autonomic recovery following virtual social exclusion in early adolescents.}},
author = {Letizia Della Longa and Irene Guglielminetti and Irene Valori and Francesco Rizzi and Gustavo Marfia and Teresa Farroni},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1981624},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996620},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Touch promotes emotional and autonomic recovery following virtual social exclusion in early adolescents.
AU - Letizia Della Longa
AU - Irene Guglielminetti
AU - Irene Valori
AU - Francesco Rizzi
AU - Gustavo Marfia
AU - Teresa Farroni
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1981624
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996620
AB - Social exclusion threatens the fundamental need for belonging and disrupts emotional and physiological regulation. This becomes particularly crucial during adolescence, when navigating complex social relationships is a key developmental challenge. Although gentle touch can reduce emotional distress and facilitate autonomic regulation, research on these effects in adolescents remains sparse. Here, we investigated whether tactile stimulation modulates adolescents' responses to virtual social exclusion using an immersive virtual reality Cyberball paradigm combined with subjective and autonomic measures. Early adolescents (N = 67) experienced virtual ostracism followed by either affective touch or a control auditory stimulus. Compared with the auditory condition, affective touch was associated with a more positive post-exclusion affective state and lower perceived arousal. Although cardiac indices were not significantly altered by social exclusion itself, participants receiving touch showed lower heart rate, reduced sympathetic activation, and greater parasympathetic activity than those receiving auditory stimulation. Exploratory correlational analyses further indicated that these effects were more pronounced in adolescents reporting higher loneliness. Together, these findings suggest that touch supports emotional adjustment following virtual social exclusion and promotes a shift toward a more parasympathetic-dominant autonomic state during a developmental period characterized by heightened sensitivity to social evaluation.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -