The Roles of Marriage and Anger Dysregulation in Biobehavioral Stress Responses

Abstract

Physiological and behavioral correlates of anger dysregulation in adults were evaluated in the context of marital stress. Fifty-four married couples participated in a series of laboratory procedures that included electrocardiogram measures during a 15-min marital conflict interaction and an interview assessing their inability to regulate anger (anger dysregulation). Results from the multivariate regression analyses indicated that the nature of the couple's relationship, rather than individual levels of anger dysregulation, predicted lower parasympathetic cardiac activity (indexed by high-frequency heart period variability) and shorter cardiac interbeat intervals. Anger dysregulation, rather than the dyadic relationship, was predictive of greater displays of angry behavior during the marital conflict interaction. The importance of contextual factors in stress processes, such as stress due to marriage, are discussed in light of research linking poor marital quality to greater health risks for women than for men. Keywordsanger dysregulation; marriage; heart period variability; cardiovascular reactivity; gender; marital stressThe leading cause of mortality for women is disease associated with the cardiovascular system (Kochanek, Murphey, Anderson, & Scott, 2004), yet owing to disparities in research on the biobehavioral stress processes that could lead to increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), we do not have as clear an understanding of what those processes may be for women as we do for men. This disparity is due, in part, to a previous CVD research paradigm that considered men the standard by which both women's and men's CVD processes could be understood (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1984). One area in which this disparity in knowledge is apparent is in our understanding of the association between anger dysregulation and cardiovascular response to emotionally salient stressors for women. The Address for correspondence: Sybil Carrère, Department of Family and Child Nursing, University of Washington; e-mail: carrere@u.washington.edu.. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript goal of the current study was to evaluate gender differences in the association between anger dysregulation and cardiovascular responses to the emotional stress of marital conflict.Anger dysregulation refers to difficulties with regulating the intensity and frequency of angry emotions in stressful social situations (Brosschot & Thayer, 1998; Carrère et al., in press). 1 Brosschot and Thayer (1998) suggested that anger-dysregulated individuals have difficulty soothing their anger emotionally, physiologically, and behaviorally under stressful situations. Some prospective research found an association between anger dysregulation and increased risk for CVD (e.g., Barefoot, Larsen, Von der Lieth, & Schroll, 1995;Niaura et al., 2002), and a meta-analysis of this area of research concluded that anger dysregulation is an independent predictor of CVD (Miller, Smith, Tur...

Emotion Regulation Related to Children's Future Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors

“…In addition, European American, African American, and interracial couples were matched on marital satisfaction and neighborhood crime level statistics. This was done to ensure equal numbers of distressed versus satisfied couples selected from neighborhoods with differing crime levels (Carrère et al., 2005) because socioeconomic factors are known to be associated with externalizing and internalizing behaviors (Hawkins, Catalano, & Miller, 1992).…”

A Systematic Review of Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia in Romantic Relationships

“…Nealey‐Moore et al (2007) measured RSA during positive, negative, and neutral speaking tasks and did not find significant differences in RSA between type of marital interaction. Carrère et al (2005) also did not find a significant association between marital quality and RSA during a conflict discussion, perhaps because changes in RSA were not compared to a baseline. Strothman (2006) found that nonviolent men had lower RSA during a conflict discussion compared to violent men, though this may also be due to methodological issues as RSA during conflict was not compared to a resting baseline.…”

“…Of the nine studies with data relevant to HO2, most studies tested phasic changes in RSA during in‐lab conflict or disagreement discussions between romantic partners (Carrère et al, 2005; Godfrey & Babcock, 2020; Murray‐Close et al, 2012; Nealey‐Moore, Smith, Uchino, Hawkins, & Olson‐Cerny, 2007; Roisman, 2007; Smith et al, ,2009, 2011; Strothman, 2006). Two studies measured short‐term changes in RSA during a positive couple interaction task (Borelli, Shai, Fogel Yaakobi, Levit‐Binnun, & Golland, 2019; Smith et al, 2009).…”