Social Support as a Moderator of Cardiovascular Reactivity in Women

Gerin, William; Milner, D'vorah; Chawla, Shalinee; Pickering, Thomas G.

doi:10.1097/00006842-199501000-00003

Cited by 110 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Previous studies have shown that the support of a friend rather than a stranger was, in the main, associated with reduced reactivity (19)(20)(21)(22)(23). What the present data add is that the sex of the supporter is important in determining whether this attenuation effect is observed; support from a male friend was associated with relatively reduced BP reactivity whereas support from a female friend was associated with increased BP reactivity.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 43%

Social Support, Social Intimacy, and Cardiovascular Reactions to Acute Psychological Stress

2009

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Background: Exaggerated cardiovascular reactions to psychological stress are considered a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity. Social support may reduce such risk by attenuating cardiovascular reactivity to stress. Purpose: To examine the effects of three independent social support variables and their interaction on cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress. The variables were stranger or friend presence; active supportive or passive presence, and male or female presence. Methods: Cardiovascular reactions to mental arithmetic stress were measured in 112 healthy young women tested in one of eight distinct independent conditions: active supportive male friend; active supportive female friend, passive male friend; passive female friend; active supportive male stranger; active supportive female stranger, passive male stranger; and passive female stranger. Results:Support from a friend rather than a stranger was associated with attenuated blood pressure reactivity, but only when the supporter was a male friend. Support from a male stranger or female friend was associated with augmented blood pressure reactivity.Conclusions: This interaction between the intimacy and sex of the supporter on cardiovascular reactivity extends the findings of previous laboratory studies of social support and can, to an extent, be interpreted in terms of Social Comparison Theory.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 43%

Social Support, Social Intimacy, and Cardiovascular Reactions to Acute Psychological Stress

2009

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“…Shumaker & Hill, 1991). However, previous laboratory studies revealing attenuated reactivity in participants tested with a friend present have all been conducted women, particularly female college students (Fontana et al, 1999;Gerin et al, 1995;Kamarck et al, 1995;Kamarck et al, 1990;Kors et al, 1997) Supportive females have been found to attenuate reactions to a speech task whereas supportive men had no such effect; this occurred irrespective of the sex of the participant (Glynn, Christenfeld, & Gerin, 1999). In contrast, the sex of the participant has been observed to be more important than the sex of the supporter in the context of an emotional disclosure procedure; women benefited more than men, in terms of lower reactivity, from emotional support provided by men (Fritz, Nagurney, & Hegelson, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Although there are exceptions (Allen, Boquet, & Shelley, 1991;Sheffield & Carroll, 1996;Snydersmith & Cacioppo, 1992), people tested with a friend present have been observed to show lower reactivity than those tested alone (Fontana, Diegnan, Villeneuve, 4 & Lepore, 1999;Gerin, Milner, Chawla, & Pickering, 1995;Kamarck, Annunziato, & Amateau, 1995;Kamarck, Manuck, & Jennings, 1990;Kors, Linden, & Gerin, 1997). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, those with supportive others present exhibited lower reactivity than those tested in other conditions (Christenfeld et al, 1997;Gerin, Pieper, Levy, & Pickering, 1992;Lepore, Allen, & Evans, 1993). A larger number of studies have examined the effects of the mere presence of others on cardiovascular reactions to an acute psychological challenge, most commonly mental arithmetic.Although there are exceptions (Allen, Boquet, & Shelley, 1991;Sheffield & Carroll, 1996;Snydersmith & Cacioppo, 1992), people tested with a friend present have been observed to show lower reactivity than those tested alone (Fontana, Diegnan, Villeneuve, 4 & Lepore, 1999;Gerin, Milner, Chawla, & Pickering, 1995;Kamarck, Annunziato, & Amateau, 1995;Kamarck, Manuck, & Jennings, 1990;Kors, Linden, & Gerin, 1997). …”

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confidence: 99%

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The effects of the spontaneous presence of a spouse/partner and others on cardiovascular reactions to an acute psychological challenge

2006

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The presence of supportive others has been associated with attenuated cardiovascular reactivity in the laboratory. The effects of the presence of a spouse and others in a more naturalistic setting have received little attention. Blood pressure and heart rate reactions to mental stress were recorded at home in 1028 married/partnered individuals. For 112 participants, their spouse/partner was present; for 78, at least one other person was present. Women tested with a spouse/partner present showed lower magnitude systolic blood pressure and heart rate reactivity than those tested without. Individuals tested with at least one non-spousal other present also displayed attenuated reactivity. This extends the results of laboratory studies and indicates that the spontaneous presence of others is associated with a reduction in cardiovascular reactivity in an everyday environment; spouse/partner presence would appear to be especially effective for women.Key words: acute stress, blood pressure, presence of spouse/partner, pulse rate, reactivity, social support 3 Exaggerated cardiovascular reactions to acute psychological challenge are considered a risk factor for cardiovascular pathology (Lovallo & Gerin, 2003;Schwartz et al., 2003) and several prospective studies have now shown consistently that high reactivity confers a modest additional risk for elevated blood pressure and other cardiovascular outcomes (e.g. Carroll, Ring, Hunt, Ford, & Macintyre, 2003;Markovitz, Raczynski, Wallace, Chettur, & Chesney, 1998;Treiber et al., 2003). In addition, a number of epidemiological studies have shown that social support is negatively associated with morbidity and mortality (e.g. Berkman & Syme, 1979;House, Robbins, & Metzner, 1982;Orth-Gomer & Johnson, 1987;Rosengren, Orth-Gomer, Wedel, & Wilhelmsen, 1993); marriage, strong social ties, and emotional support from others have all been linked to better general, including cardiovascular, health outcomes (e.g. Gordon & Rosenthal, 1995;Marmot et al., 1975;Robles & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2003;Verbrugge, 1979). It has been hypothesised that social support may enhance cardiovascular health, at least in part, by attenuating the cardiovascular reactions to stress exposure (Kamarck, Peterman, & Raynor, 1998;Smith & Gerin, 1998).A number of studies have now tested the proposition that the presence of supportive others attenuates cardiovascular reactivity (Lepore, 1998). A range of paradigms have been employed, but virtually all studies, for convenience, have tested student samples, particularly female students. For the most part, studies that have examined the effects of active social support have had students give a speech, usually on a controversial topic, and compared cardiovascular reactions to this task in different social contexts: alone, with challenging or non-supportive others present, with actively supportive others present. In general, those with supportive others present exhibited lower reactivity than those tested in other conditions (Christenfeld et al., 1997;Gerin, Pieper, Levy,...

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“…Hypotesen om buffereffekter fremlegger derimot at gode sosiale forhold spiller størst rolle i situasjoner eller perioder med mer belastende livshendelser ved at de fungerer som en buffer for de negative effektene av disse belastningene. Empiriske studier støtter både hypotesen om direkte effekter (Gjertsen 1998, Burke og Mikkelsen 2007 og hypotesen om buffereffekter (Gerin, Milner et al 1995, Penninx, VanTilburg et al 1997, Graham og Barnow 2013.…”

Section: Direkte Effekter Og Buffereffekterunclassified