In a study of HIV-positive men, those who tended to blame themselves for negative outside events experienced a significantly faster decline in helper T cells, which are important for maintaining immune function.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by original 1996 Segerstrom et al. study in Health Psychology and corroborated by multiple independent secondary academic sources referencing the same research. [tier=silver indep_score=0.925 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- Tuning in to psychology (seed:psychology_and_neuroscience)
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12631149_Optimism_Pessimism_and_Mortality (corroboration)
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022399901002495 (corroboration)
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/14871767_Self-Discrepancy_and_Natural_Killer_Cell_Activity_Immunological_Consequences_of_Negative_Self-Evaluation (corroboration)