Chronic stress as a factor in physiologic reactivity to challenge.

This study examined the hypothesis that chronic stress contributes to heightened cardiovascular reactivity. Chronic stress was operationalized as crowding stress associated with commercial-residential mixes in high-density neighborhoods. Seventeen residents of crowded neighborhoods and 24 residents of uncrowded neighborhoods worked on a challenging task while blood pressure and heart rate were measured. Self-report and biochemical measures indicated that the two groups differed in level of chronic stress. Results also indicated that chronic stress contributes to cardiovascular reactivity. Crowded residents showed greater increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate and took longer to return to baseline than did uncrowded residents. The few differences found between Type A and Type B residents were found only in the low-stress group.