Key result
Hostility in husbands was associated with greater systolic blood pressure reactivity under high evaluative threat, whereas wives disagreeing with hostile husbands showed greater heart rate reactivity.
Why the study?
Does hostility and evaluative threat increase cardiovascular reactivity during marital interaction in couples?
Population
60 couples
Comparison
Discussion task under conditions of high… vs Discussion task under low evaluative threat and…
Design
Other
Authors
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Highlights potential mechanism linking marital hostility to CV risk; extends observational data but leaves causal role open.
Does hostility and evaluative threat increase cardiovascular reactivity during marital interaction in couples?
Hostility in men is associated with heightened cardiovascular reactivity during stressful marital interactions, highlighting a potential psychophysiologic mechanism linking hostility to cardiovascular risk.
Timothy W. Smith (1999) studied Cardiovascular reactivity to social stressors (n=120). Hostility and experimentally manipulated social stressors (evaluative threat and agreement/disagreement) vs. Low hostility and low evaluative threat was evaluated on Systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate responses. Hostility in husbands was associated with greater systolic blood pressure reactivity under high evaluative threat, whereas wives disagreeing with hostile husbands showed greater heart rate reactivity.
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