Violence Exposure and Optimism Predict Task-Induced Changes in Blood Pressure and Pulse Rate in a Normotensive Sample of Inner-City Black Youth

OBJECTIVE: This investigation examined the association of violence exposure (home and neighborhood) and optimism to task-induced changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse rate (PR). METHODS: Drawn from a larger investigation, the convenience sample for this study consisted of 172 normotensive black youth (mean age = 11.5 years, standard deviation = 1.3). Violence exposure and optimism were self-reported by participants, and task-induced changes in SBP, DBP, and PR were measured with an automated monitor during two sequentially administered digit-forward and digit-backward tasks. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that violence exposure was inversely related to task-induced changes in SBP (p = .010) and DBP (p = .005). Optimism was not an independent predictor of blood pressure or PR changes (p-s > .32). The final step of these hierarchical analyses indicated that the effects of violence exposure and optimism interacted to predict task-induced changes in SBP (p = .013) and PR (p = .003). Follow-up regression analyses indicated that violence exposure was inversely related to task-induced changes in SBP among participants high in optimism and was positively associated with PR reactivity in participants low in optimism. CONCLUSIONS: The youth in this study have intact mechanisms for buffering blood pressure responses to violence exposure, especially those who are more optimistic about their future-a person factor whose moderating effects might wane with advancing age.