Physiological adaptation to recurrent social stress of extraversion

The present studies examined the influence of extraversion on physiological reactivity, recovery, and physiological habituation‐sensitization to repeated social stressors. In Study 1, subjective and physiological data were collected from 97 college students who were categorized as high (n = 51) and low (n = 46) on extraversion (NEO‐FFI) across five laboratory stages: baseline, stress 1, poststress 1, stress 2, and poststress 2. Results indicated high extraversion (HE) participants exhibited relative lesser heart rate (HR) reactivity and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) withdrawals to, and more complete HR and RSA recovery after the first social stress, and also exhibited relative lesser HR reactivity to the second social stress. When repeatedly exposed to a social stressor, HE participants showed pronounced systolic blood pressure (SBP) adaptation, low extraversion (LE) participants displayed diastolic blood pressure (DBP) sensitization. In Study 2, data were collected from another 78 participants (HE: n = 40, LE: n = 38) across the same laboratory stages with speech performance videotaped. After controlling for the speech styles, Study 2 found the same HR response and SBP/DBP adaptation pattern across extraversion groups to social stress as Study 1 but not RSA reactivity. These findings suggest extraverts exhibit more adaptive physiological reactivity to recurrent social stressors, which thus might benefit their health.     

Cardiovascular and electrodermal responses to support and provocation: interpersonal methods in the study of psychophysiological reactivity

This study examined the joint and independent effects of experimentally manipulated social contexts and individual differences in hostility and perceived social support on physiological responses to a social stressor, while illustrating the use of the interpersonal circumplex for integrative social psychophysiological research. Undergraduate women completed a speech task in a supportive, neutral, or provoking context and completed measures of hostility and perceived social support. The provoking context evoked the largest blood pressure and heart rate (HR) responses, followed by the neutral and the supportive context. Social context also influenced HR and electrodermal reactivity during task preparation. Hostility elicited higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity during preparation, speech, and recovery. Perceived social support interacted with context to affect SBP and HR during speech and preparation. The roles of interpersonal characteristics and contexts in the physiological stress response and the utility of interpersonal methods in studying these associations are discussed.     

Smoking cessation and cardiovascular reactivity to stress

Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) reactivity to mental arithmetic and deep knee bends were monitored in a sample of smokers prior to and 6 months following smoking cessation. There was no reduction in cardiovascular reactivity to either stressor following cessation. However, heightened pretreatment DBP and HR reactivity to mental arithmetic and SBP reactivity to deep knee bends were associated with relapse by the 6-month follow-up. Demographic and smoking history variables and pretreatment nicotine dependence were not associated with treatment outcome. Further exploration of cardiovascular reactivity to stress among smokers may elucidate the process of relapse.This research was supported by funds from the American Lung Association (Nassau-Suffolk County, NY), the American Heart Association (Suffolk County), the Veteran's Administration, NIH Grants HL3142903, HL3426103, HL4036801, and CA 50108-02, Biomedical Research Support Grants RR0706721 and RR0536927, and Sigma Xi.     

Social support schemas, trait anger, and cardiovascular responses.

This study examined the influence of activated support schemas on cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) during an anger-recall interview. Eighty Chinese female undergraduates wrote about a supportive tie or a casual acquaintance and subsequently disclosed an anger-provoking event while their heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured. Compared to participants in the 'acquaintance' condition, those in the 'support' condition showed lower HR, SBP and DBP reactivity, as well as smaller state anger increases and less negative appraisals of the recalled anger event. Reactivity increased as a function of trait anger. High trait anger individuals also had greater increases in state anger and more negative appraisals of the recalled event compared to their low trait anger counterparts. Support schema activation reduced the effects of trait anger on CVR such that high trait anger individuals in the 'support' condition had significantly lower CVR compared to high trait anger individuals in the 'acquaintance' condition. These findings suggest that social support schemas may have beneficial effects even in the absence of actual, enacted support.     

Type D personality and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress: The mediating effects of social support and negative social relationships

Type D personality has been consistently associated with adverse cardiovascular health with atypical cardiovascular reactions to psychological stress one potential underlying mechanism. As Type D individuals have been noted to report lower social support and greater perceptions of negativity in social interactions, this study examined if the association between Type D personality and cardiovascular reactivity was mediated by these social relationships. A sample of 195 undergraduate students (138 female) participated in this observational study, where they completed measures assessing Type D personality (DS14), social support, and perceptions of negative social relationships (National Institute of Health social relationship scales), before undergoing a traditional cardiovascular reactivity protocol. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP; DBP), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were monitored throughout. ANCOVAs and regressions indicated that Type D personality was associated with lower cardiovascular reactivity to a mental arithmetic stressor. Furthermore, mediation analyses (process macro) indicated that the relationship between Type D personality and cardiovascular reactivity was mediated via increased perceptions of negative social relationships, as well as lower levels of social support. Apart from a significant association between Type D personality and increased HR reactivity, all results failed to withstand adjustment for the individual effects of negative affect (NA) and social inhibition (SI) in controlled analyses. Overall, these findings suggest that the predictive utility of Type D personality on cardiovascular reactivity above and beyond the individual effects of NA and SI is limited, and may vary depending on the cardiovascular parameter of focus.     

Four-Year Stability of Cardiovascular Reactivity to Psychological Stress

The 4-year stability of cardiovascular responses to laboratory psychological stress (mental arithmetic) was examined in 75 adults. The stability coefficients were .76 for heart rate (HR) change and .81 for absolute HR, .66 for systolic blood pressure (SBP) change and .52 for absolute SBP, .16 for diastolic blood pressure (DBP) change and .27 for absolute DBP. Males had greater SBP and DBP reactivity than females in the first session, but this reactivity decreased by the 4-year follow-up session (which was not the case for women).     

Cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stress and carotid intima-media thickness in children

The relationship between cardiovascular stress reactivity and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) has been established in adults, but not yet studied in children. Cardiovascular reactivity to an ad lib speech was measured in 20 boys and 20 girls age 11.0 ± 1.4 years. Measures included heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure reactivity, and mean common carotid artery IMT. Sequential regression analyses were used to establish the incremental increase in R ²     for the prediction of IMT due to cardiovascular reactivity independent of age, socioeconomic status, race, percentage body fat, and baseline BP or HR. SBP reactivity (β=0.002,     , p <.05), but not DBP reactivity ( p =.12) or HR reactivity ( p =.82), independently predicted carotid artery IMT. This study provides initial evidence that SBP reactivity is associated with IMT and perhaps the early pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in childhood.     

Protective effect of interval exercise on psychophysiological stress reactivity in children

Two studies determined whether interval exercise reduces children's stress reactivity. For Experiment 1 children completed interval exercise ( n =14) or watched TV ( n =14) for 25 min. After 20 min rest children completed a speech task. Speech-induced diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reactivity was dampened in the exercise group ( p <.05). For Experiment 2 children ( n =22) completed interval exercise-speech and TV-speech conditions on separate days. Physical activity was assessed by accelerometry and aerobic fitness estimated by submaximal exercise. DBP, systolic BP, and heart rate (HR) reactivity to the speech stressor were dampened ( p <.05) after exercise compared to TV watching. Fitness was positively associated with HR reactivity. Interval exercise that mimics usual patterns of physically active play dampens cardiovascular reactivity to interpersonal stress.     

Is blunted cardiovascular reactivity in depression mood-state dependent? A comparison of major depressive disorder remitted depression and healthy controls

Prior work has repeatedly demonstrated that people who have current major depression exhibit blunted cardiovascular reactivity to acute stressors (e.g., Salomon et al., 2009). A key question regards the psychobiological basis for these deficits, including whether such deficits are depressed mood-state dependent or whether these effects are trait-like and are observed outside of depression episodes in vulnerable individuals. To examine this issue, we assessed cardiovascular reactivity to a speech stressor task and a forehead cold pressor in 50 individuals with current major depressive disorder (MDD), 25 with remitted major depression (RMD), and 45 healthy controls. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure and impedance cardiography were assessed and analyses controlled for BMI and sex. Significant group effects were found for SBP, HR, and PEP for the speech preparation period and HR, CO, and PEP during the speech. For each of these parameters, only the MDD group exhibited attenuated reactivity as well as impaired SBP recovery. Reactivity and recovery in the RMD group more closely resembled the healthy controls. Speeches given by the MDD group were rated as less persuasive than the RMD or healthy controls' speeches. No significant differences were found for the cold pressor. Blunted cardiovascular reactivity and impaired recovery in current major depression may be mood-state dependent phenomena and may be more reflective of motivational deficits than deficits in the physiological integrity of the cardiovascular system.     

Stability of individual differences in cardiovascular reactivity: A thirteen month follow-up

This study concerns the stability of individual differences in cardiovascular reactivity among nineteen male subjects who had participated in a similar investigation thirteen months earlier. In the previous study (Year I), subjects were presented a frustrating task in concept formation to perform at each of two experimental sessions, scheduled one week apart, and recordings of heart rate (HR) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) obtained during periods of rest and task performance on each occasion of testing. Under the current procedure (Year II), subjects were exposed to the same experimental stressor as on year I, as well as a second cognitive task involving a difficult problem in “mental arithmetic”; HR, SBP and DBP were again recorded both at rest and while subjects performed the instructed tasks. Measures of task-related cardiovascular arousal across the two years of observation revealed reproducible individual differences with respect to the magnitude of subjects' HR and SBP, but not DBP, reactivity. Although individual differences in HR and SBP responses correlated positively, neither HR nor SBP reactivity covaried reliably with DBP changes. It was suggested that concomitant response differences in HR and SBP, as observed under these experimental conditions, may reflect an underlying dimension of individual differences in beta-adrenergic reactivity.     

Reproducibility of blood pressure and heart rate reactivity: A meta-analysis

Reproducibilities of blood pressure and heart rule (HR) reactivity reported in studies assessing responses to the same laboratory stressors across occasions were reviewed with meta-analytic techniques. Changes in HR had the greatest reproducibility (r =.555), followed by systolic blood pressure (SBP) (.407) and diastolic blood pressure (DBF) (.348), Both SBP and HR response reproducibility was higher at shorter lest-retest intervals, whereas DBP values varied unsystematically with length of test-retest interval Older samples exhibited higher SBP and DBP reproducibility to stressors. SBP and DBP reproducibilities were better for tasks that did not make speech demands. The reliability of reactivity assessment was higher when based on three or more measurements, On the basis of able evidence, the drop in stress reproducibility, as test-retest interval increases, places limits on the viability of BP reactivity as a strong marker or risk factor for coronary heart disease.     

Establishing the validity of a novel passive stress task

Laboratory tasks used to elicit a cardiovascular stress response in the laboratory can involve either active or passive coping. However, in previous work, passive stress tasks often incorporate a distinct physical stress element, such as the handgrip or cold pressor task, meaning observed changes in cardiovascular parameters may be the result of the physical element of the stressor rather than truly reflecting psychological stress. The present study aimed to establish the validity of a psychological passive stressor; one more analogous to active tasks than those previously employed in laboratory studies. Twenty-six young, healthy adults completed a speech task in the laboratory following a resting baseline period. Twelve months later, they were invited back to the laboratory and watched the video recording of their speech. Analyses confirmed that while both tasks elicited significant SBP and DBP change (all ps < .001), only the active task was associated with HR and CO reactivity (both ps < .001), while only the passive task was associated with TPR reactivity (p = .028). Furthermore, the passive stressor was associated with a mixed hemodynamic profile, whereas the active stressor was associated with a clear myocardial profile. This study confirms that watching a video recording of oneself complete a speech task is associated with a more vascular response profile, a response associated with passive coping contexts.     

Ethnic differences in cardiovascular responses to laboratory stress: A comparison between asian and white americans

Compared to other ethnic groups, Asian Americans show significantly lower rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We tested the hypothesis that Asian Americans would show reduced cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors than Caucasians. Forty-three Asians (18 men, 25 women) and 77 Caucasians (36 men, 41 women) with a mean age of 24 years (SD = 3.93) participated in a stress reactivity protocol consisting of four tasks (speech, serial subtraction, mirror tracing, handgrip) while heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured. Asian Americans demonstrated overall lower reactivity across tasks for SBP F(1,117 = 7.48, p < .01) and a trend toward lower HR response F(1,117 = 3.18, p < .10). A significant ethnicity by task interaction was observed for HR reactivity F(3,351 = 2.94, p < .05) such that Caucasians showed greater responses for the subtraction task.     

Silent myocardial ischemia and cardiovascular responses to anger provocation in older adults

To determine if older, asymptomatic individuals with no prior history of coronary heart disease with exercise-induced silent myocardial ischemia (SI) during graded exercise treadmill testing exhibit exaggerated cardiovascular reactivity to anger provocation, we compared 42 SI participants and 95 controls. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR) changes from baseline to three tasks & #x2014;anger recall, speech role-play, and mental arithmetic with harassment & #x2014;were assessed. Compared to controls, SI displayed greater HR responses for the speech role-play task only. The SI group was significantly older, had higher levels of fasting glucose and triglycerides, and had lower HDL-cholesterol. In multiple regression analyses, after controlling for these differences, SI was significantly associated with greater HR responses to the speech role-play. In sum, the SI group had significantly exaggerated HR responses to the speech role-play task, whereas SBP and DBP reactivity were comparable between groups. This suggests minimally enhanced cardiovascular reactivity among older SI patients that may nonetheless increase risk for cardiac events. This work was supported by National Institute on Aging (NIA) K24AG00930, NIA R29AG15112, aDepartment ofVeteran Affairs Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center Grant (GRECC), a VAMerit Grant, and the University of Maryland Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (P60-AG12583). We thank Stephen Boyle for his assistance with data collection and development of the speech-role play task. We also thank Aron Siegman for his contributions to the initial conceptualization of this study. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Shari R.Waldstein, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250.     

Depressive symptoms and cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory behavioral stress

Although a growing literature associates depressive symptoms with cardiovascular disease (CVD), the mechanisms underlying this association have not been clearly determined. The cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) hypothesis suggests that chronically elevated CVR during psychological distress can confer disease risk via vascular alterations. This investigation is a quantitative review of studies that evaluated the association of depressive symptoms with CVR. Atotal of 60 hypotheses were tested: 21 tests involved systolic blood pressure (SBP), 21 involved diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and 18 involved heart rate (HR). The aggregate effect size for the relation between depressive symptoms and HR reactivity was moderate (d = 0.37); aggregate effect sizes were small for SBP reactivity (d = 0.13) and DBP reactivity (d = 0.17). Effect sizes involving SBP reactivity were homogenous, whereas effect sizes involving DBP and HR reactivity were higher for studies that examined participants with CVD. These findings provide partial support for the associations of depressive symptoms with CVR.     

Pain catastrophizing,physiological indexes,and chronic pain severity: tests of mediation and moderation models

Catastrophizing about pain is related to elevated pain severity and poor adjustment among chronic pain patients, but few physiological mechanisms by which pain catastrophizing maintains and exacerbates pain have been explored. We hypothesized that resting levels of lower paraspinal muscle tension and/or lower paraspinal and cardiovascular reactivity to emotional arousal may: (a) mediate links between pain catastrophizing and chronic pain intensity; (b) moderate these links such that only patients described by certain combinations of pain catastrophizing and physiological indexes would report pronounced chronic pain. Chronic low back pain patients (N = 97) participated in anger recall and sadness recall interviews while lower paraspinal and trapezius EMG and systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded. Mediation models were not supported. However, pain catastrophizing significantly interacted with resting lower paraspinal muscle tension to predict pain severity such that high catastrophizers with high resting lower paraspinal tension reported the greatest pain. Pain catastrophizing also interacted with SBP, DBP and HR reactivity to affect pain such that high catastrophizers who showed low cardiovascular reactivity to the interviews reported the greatest pain. Results support a multi-variable profile approach to identifying pain catastrophizers at greatest risk for pain severity by virtue of resting muscle tension and cardiovascular stress function.     

The influence of social support on cardiovascular responses during stressor anticipation and active coping

This study investigated effects of different types of social support on cardiovascular reactivity during anticipation of, performance of and recovery from an evaluative speaking task. Thirty male and 30 female students were assigned to one of three social conditions: alone, mental activation of supportive ties, actual support transactions. Cardiovascular effects of social support were found to differ over task conditions and they were not unidirectional. During passive stressor anticipation, support conditions attenuated SBP reactivity, in particular mental activation of supportive ties. During active speech performance gender-specific support effects were observed. The alone condition elicited higher SBP reactivity in men compared to women, support conditions enhanced SBP reactivity in women and attenuated SBP reactivity in men resulting in comparable cardiovascular activation across gender groups. Drawing from research on active coping and energization gender-specific cardiovascular activation was attributed to differences in effort expenditure.     

Openness to experience and adapting to change: Cardiovascular stress habituation to change in acute stress exposure

Underlying psychophysiological mechanisms of effect linking openness to experience to health outcomes, and particularly cardiovascular well‐being, are unknown. This study examined the role of openness in the context of cardiovascular responsivity to acute psychological stress. Continuous cardiovascular response data were collected for 74 healthy young female adults across an experimental protocol, including differing counterbalanced acute stressors. Openness was measured via self‐report questionnaire. Analysis of covariance revealed openness was associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP; p = .016), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP; p = .036) responsivity across the protocol. Openness was also associated with heart rate (HR) responding to the initial stress exposure (p = .044). Examination of cardiovascular adaptation revealed that higher openness was associated with significant SBP (p = .001), DBP (p = .009), and HR (p = .002) habituation in response to the second differing acute stress exposure. Taken together, the findings suggest persons higher in openness are characterized by an adaptive cardiovascular stress response profile within the context of changing acute stress exposures. This study is also the first to demonstrate individual differences in cardiovascular adaptation across a protocol consisting of differing stress exposures. More broadly, this research also suggests that future research may benefit from conceptualizing an adaptive fitness of openness within the context of change. In summary, the present study provides evidence that higher openness stimulates short‐term stress responsivity, while ensuring cardiovascular habituation to change in stress across time.     

Sibling Similarities in Cardiovascular Reactivity to Stress

To examine the similarities of nun-twin sibling pairs in cardiovascular reactivity to stress, in terms of both individual parameters such as heart rate and general cardiovascular reactivity, 36 young adult sibling pairs were recruited. Members of 12 same-sex male, 12 same-sex female, and 12 opposite-sex pairs participated in a 66-min experimental protocol consisting of alternating stress and relaxation periods. Pour stressors were employed: a challenging conceptual task, mental arithmetic, isometric bund-grip, and the cold pressor test. Repeated measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP. DBF), heart rate (HR), ear pulse transit time (EPTT), and digital blood volume pulse (DBVP) were obtained. Pair members exhibited significant similarities in resting SBP, DBP, and HR. A number of significant similarities in reactivity to stress were observed. To examine the specificity of familial influences on different aspects of cardiovascular response to stress, a number of canonical and cross-correlations were computed. The cardiovascular reactions of one sibling were used to predict those of his/her brother or sister. Several of the correlations attained significance. Most interestingly, familial influences on SBP, DBP, and DBVP reactivity to the cold pressor test appear to exhibit some degree of overlap, possibly reflecting more fundamental familial influences on alpha-adrenergic reactivity. Joint familial influences on behavioral and cardiovascular reactivity to stress are discussed.     

Age differences in the consistency of cardiovascular response patterns in healthy women

To determine if response consistency is higher in older women, twenty young adult (mean = 20 years) and twenty-two elderly (mean = 82 years) women participated in a 20-min stress protocol including serial subtraction, anxiety and anger imagery tasks. All subjects were healthy and free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease. Heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) responses to the tasks were assessed. To allow comparisons of the effects of stress on different cardiovascular parameters, all baseline-stress change scores were converted to z-scores. Forty-two 3(parameter)X3(stressor) matrices of z-scores, one for each subject, were created. Intraclass correlations computed using these matrices revealed greater consistency of response hierarchies (e.g., DBP greater than SBP greater than HR) among elderly subjects. Possible mechanisms for this effect are discussed.