Cardiovascular responses to agency and communion stressors in young women

Autonomic influences on heart rate during marital conflict: Associations with high frequency heart rate variability and cardiac pre-ejection period

Psychosocial factors predict the development and course of cardiovascular disease, perhaps through sympathetic and parasympathetic mechanisms. At rest, heart rate (HR) is under parasympathetic control, often measured as high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). During stress, HR is influenced jointly by parasympathetic and sympathetic processes, the latter often quantified as pre-ejection period (PEP). In studies of cardiovascular risk factors that involve social interaction (e.g. marital conflict), HF-HRV might be altered by speech artifacts, weakening its validity as a measure of parasympathetic activity. To evaluate this possibility, we tested associations of HF-HRV and PEP with HR at rest and across periods of marital conflict interaction that varied in experimentally-manipulated degrees of speech in 104 couples. At rest, only HF-HRV was independently related to HR, for both husbands and wives. During speaking, listening, and recovery periods, husbands' and wives' HF-HRV and PEP change independently predicted HR change. These findings support interpretation of HF-HRV as a parasympathetic index during stressful social interactions that may confer risk for cardiovascular disease.

Provider and recipient factors that may moderate the effectiveness of received support: examining the effects of relationship quality and expectations for support on behavioral and cardiovascular reactions

Social relationships have been shown to predict decreased risk for morbidity and mortality. However, the more precise processes underlying these associations are in need of exploration. In this study, we examined important provider (relationship quality) and recipient-related (support expectations) factors that might influence the effectiveness of receiving support on cardiovascular reactivity (CVR). Participants discussed a stressful event with either a supportive or ambivalent friend, and were either given instructions that included an explicit expectation of support provision or no expectation during the task. Behavioral coding revealed fewer emotionally supportive behaviors and marginally more negative behaviors from ambivalent friends. Receiving support from an ambivalent friend was also associated with higher systolic blood pressure reactivity compared to a supportive friend, but had no effects on diastolic blood pressure or heart rate; nor were there any significant statistical interactions with the expectation manipulation. Overall, support expectations had little influence on cardiovascular and behavioral responses. Implications for the study of received support and health are discussed along with potential mechanisms responsible for such links.

Cardiovascular functioning, personality, and the social world: the domain of hierarchical power

The present paper considers connections between cardiovascular functioning (i.e., disease status and acute stress responses) and social dominance, and its counterpart, social submissiveness, both of which are part of the broader domain of "hierarchical power" [Bugental, D.B., 2000. Acquisition of the algorithms of social life: a domain-based approach. Psychological Bulletin 126, 187-219]. Empirical research on connections between dominance/submissiveness and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in humans is reviewed, as is research on dominance/submissiveness and cardiovascular reactivity to, and recovery from, acute stressors. Three general conclusions are established. First, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations, trait and behavioral indicators of dominance have been positively associated with cardiovascular disease severity, incidence, and progression, whereas preliminary evidence from two studies suggests that trait submissiveness may protect against poorer disease outcomes. Second, among men and women, trait dominance is associated with reactivity to and recovery from acute stressors, particularly social challenges. Third, linkages between dominance/submissiveness and cardiovascular functioning, especially cardiovascular reactivity, are characterized by gender-specific patterning, and this patterning emerges as a function of social context. Implications for the next generation of research concerning social dominance, gender, and cardiovascular functioning are discussed.

Cardiovascular reactivity during positive and negative marital interactions

Marriage reduces risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) but marital stress increases risk, perhaps through cardiovascular reactivity (CVR). However, previous studies have lacked controls necessary to conclude definitively that negative marital interactions evoke heightened CVR. To test the specific effects of marital stress on CVR, 114 couples engaged in positive, neutral, or negative interactions in which speaking and task involvement were controlled. Compared to positive and neutral conditions, negative discussions evoked larger increases in systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output, and larger decreases in peripheral resistance and pre-ejection period--similarly for men and women. Hence, CVR could contribute to the effects of marital difficulties on CVD. Previous evidence of sex differences in this effect might reflect factors other than simple reactivity to negative interactions.

On the importance of relationship quality: the impact of ambivalence in friendships on cardiovascular functioning

BACKGROUND

Social relationships are reliably related to rates of morbidity and mortality. One pathway by which social relationships may influence health is via the impact of relationship quality on cardiovascular reactivity during social interactions.

PURPOSE AND METHOD

This study examined the effects of the quality of a friendship on cardiovascular reactivity when speaking about positive or negative life events with an ambivalent or supportive friend. To examine this, 107 healthy male and female adults (and their same-sex friend) were recruited.

RESULTS

Results revealed that participants exhibited the greatest levels of systolic blood pressure reactivity when discussing a negative event with an ambivalent friend compared to a supportive friend. We also found higher resting levels of heart rate and lower respiratory sinus arrhythmia among those who brought in ambivalent friends than those who brought in supportive friends.

CONCLUSION

Individuals may not be able to fully relax in the presence of ambivalent friends and may not benefit from support during stress. This research may help clarify the health-related consequences of differing types of social relationships.

Cardiovascular reactivity during dyadic social interaction: The roles of gender and dominance

The present study examined relationships among gender, trait dominance, and cardiovascular reactivity assessed during dyadic social interactions between same-gender and same-ethnicity participants. One-hundred sixty dyads, 76 comprised of African American participants and 84 comprised of European American participants, engaged in three 4-min discussions while their heart rate and blood pressure responses were assessed. All dyads were composed of unacquainted partners. Multilevel modeling for dyadic data revealed that trait dominance was significantly and positively associated with blood pressure reactivity during the discussions, but only among men who interacted with a highly dominant partner. The results of the present study add to the weight of the evidence identifying dominance as a social domain of significance for cardiovascular functioning, particularly among men. Potential reasons for gender-specific patterning are considered.

Effect of verbal self-disclosure on natural killer cell activity: moderating influence of cynical hostility

One objective of the present research was to examine the immunological effects of self-disclosing personal information regarding a traumatic or stressful experience. A second objective was to examine the hypothesis that the effect of self-disclosure on immune function is moderated by individual differences in cynical hostility. Forty-three male college undergraduates, classified as high or low on the Cook-Medley Hostility scale were randomly assigned to either a verbal self-disclosure or a nondisclosure discussion condition. Task-induced change in natural killer (NK) cell activity (i.e., cytotoxicity) served as the dependent variable. As predicted, a significant interaction between discussion condition and hostility was obtained. Among subjects in the self-disclosure condition, high hostility subjects exhibited a significantly greater increase in NK cell cytotoxicity than low hostility subjects. The effect of self-disclosure on NK cell activity is moderated by an individual's level of cynical hostility. The greater short term enhancement in NK cell activity observed for hostile persons is a likely correlate of a more pronounced acute arousal response elicited by the self-disclosure task.