Effect of Watching Horror Films on the Concentration of Secretory Immanoglobulin A(sIgA) in Saliva

In order to study the effect of watching horror films on the immune system, variations o n t h e co n ce n t r a t io n o f se cr e t o r y immunoglobulin A (sIgA) existing in saliva samples were studied. The subjects (consisted of 26 female under-graduate students who were studying psychology and education) we r e se le ct e d. B e fo r e st a r t in g t h e exp eriment, all th e p a rticip an ts were observed by physician and their physical healths was approved. The participants were divided randomly into two experimental and control groups (n=13). A horror film was shown to the exp erimental group and a family-emotional film was shown to the control group. Based on the pre-test post-test design, before and after watching the films, their saliva samples were collected in two minutes time in the same situations. The sa li va sa mp le s we r e a n a lyze d b y Nephelometer analyzer and the results were analyzed by the analysis of covariance. The results showed that there was a significant increase in the concentration of sIgA after watching the horror film in the experimental group. Also, the difference between the increase in the concentration of sIgA after watching a horror film in comparison to the concentration of sIgA before and after watching a family-emotional film in the control group was significant (p<0/05). It was concluded that watching horror film can affect the concentration of sIgA. As the results of other studies confiremed, watching horror films like acute stress can increase the concentration of sIgA in saliva.