Affection Deprivation is Associated with the Frequency, Intensity, and Duration of Headaches

Affection exchange theory (AET) proposes that affection deprivation—the perceived discrepancy between desired and experienced levels of affectionate communication—is a distressing state that can manifest in multiple mental and physical symptoms. One very common physical symptom in the population is the experience of headaches. On the basis of AET and headache research, this study proposes a mediational model whereby affection deprivation is associated with the frequency, intensity, and duration of headaches via three mediators: stress, depressive symptoms, and dysregulated sleep. Using a representative survey of U.S. American adults (N = 497), this study found that depressive symptoms and sleep problems mediated the association between affection deprivation and headache frequency. For headache intensity and duration, only depressive symptoms significantly mediated an association with affection deprivation.