hoping to initiate a discussion about touch

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Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on January 07, 2000 at 20:35:24:

Working on a book on henna, history traditions and why it's endured
for at least 9000 years .... one thing I need to address is "Touch"

My favorite massotherapist, to whom I usually go with such questions,
is very ill, and I don't feel I can encumber her with a lot of
iuquiries (Pause to publicly thank Natasha, Kenzi, Anon (Eliz), and
Jeremy for their great help when I ask them questions).

I've got some fairly general books that say that when one person
touches another 1) social hierarchy is established, 2)endorphins are
released 3)immune system is strengthened, 4) trust is
enhanced, 5) the relaxation response is enhanced ...... and there have
been studies that show that when one person touches another honesty
and trust are enhanced, and a general feeling of well-being and
positive response towards a specific location (where the touch was
experienced) occur, babies gain weight faster if touched and all that
jazz.

Some of ya'll MUST have had a psych class more recently than I, (circa
1967). Not to mention that I know several of you have some
massotherapy instruction. Can anyone help me out here? My premise
is that henna is not, in an of itself, deeply magical but the
situation of two women touching each other for an extended period of
time in a celebration of "rite of passage" "festivity" "socially
meaningful exchange" "celebration of beauty and sexuality" is
extremely powerful, especially if the henna is strongly scented....and
the practice is repeated frequently in the community (re-enforced with
regular marriages, eids, circumcisions and all that....)

Can anyone respond, particularly if they can aim me at a bibliographic
source, with a properly controlled test of "touching"? I know everyone
has anecdotal bits about how wonderful people feel being
hennaed....and I'd love to hear that, but I REALLY need any
double/blind scientific studies that show that touching vs not
touching makes a difference in health, sense of well being
and trust, behaviour, status and longevity.

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