Defensive hostility : its role in cardiovascular reactivity and health-risk behaviors

The present study examined the relationship between defensive hostility, cardiovascular responses to interpersonal stress and health-risk behaviours associated with CHD pathogenesis. For the analysis of health-risk behaviours, subjects completed a General Health Survey and monitored their intake of calories, saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, alcohol, caffeine and cigarettes on one weekday and one weekend-day. The results offered no conclusive support for the hypotheses that the Defensive Hostile group would exhibit significantly greater cardiovascular reactivity under harassment and report increased engagement in health-risk behaviours relative to others. Instead, the LoDef/LoHo group showed the most elevated SBP reactivity under harassment, although no strong conclusion can be made due to their limited sample size. The harassed LoDef/LoHo group also displayed greater SBP and SV responses while the harassed Defensive Hostile group displayed greater SBP reactivity relative to their own non-harassed counterparts. No group differences in negative emotional reactions to harassment were observed. The groups also did not differ in any of the health-risk behaviours although a positive association was found between hostility and cholesterol intake. A negative association between defensiveness and beer intake with trend results for general alcohol consumption were also obtained. These study findings suggest that further research is needed to examine the moderating influence of interpersonal stress, such as harassment, not only in the relationship between defensive hostility and cardiovascular reactivity but between low levels of both defensiveness and hostility and cardiovascular responses as well. (Abstract shortened by UMI.