www.ehps.net/ehp
Ad Vingerhoets1* and Lauren Bylsma2
1 Department of Psychology and Health, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
2 Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, USA
original article
Crying as a multifaceted health psychology conceptualisation: crying as coping,
risk factor, and symptom
*Corresponding Author: Ad Vingerhoets; email: Vingerhoets@uvt.nl
Ad Vingerhoets
Professor of Clinical Health Psychology
Tilburg University
Lauren Bylsma
Clinical psychology doctoral student
University of South Florida
Abstract
We summarize popular and pre-scientific conceptions of
the relationship between crying, well-being, and health,
and we review the scientific literature on this topic. It
appears that crying can be conceived in three distinct
ways: (1) crying as coping; (2) (non)crying as a risk
factor for the development of disease; and (3) crying as a
sign of distress and a symptom of disease. First, the focus
is on whether crying brings relief and facilitates
emotional recovery after stressor exposure. Next, we
discuss the evidence addressing whether crying or its
chronic inhibition is associated with increased risk of
developing health problems. Finally, we address crying as
a sign or symptom of distress, pain or disease. It is
concluded that the question regarding whether crying
serves a coping function and brings relief has yielded
seemingly contrasting findings, dependent on the design
of the study. Concerning the second and third issues, there
is a lack of sound studies. We present evidence for a
relationship between neurological disorders and crying.
The relationship between crying and psychiatric disorders
such as depression is less clear. There is also mainly
anecdotal evidence of increased crying in a wide variety
of health problems, which may reflect symptoms of
disease, co