Interpersonal Self-support Moderates Psychological And Physiological Responses To Social Stress

Social stress could induce a range of psychological and physiological responses, personality factors affect the social stress responses. The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping suggested that the moderating mechanisms of personality on social stress factors was cognitive evaluation. Interpersonal self-support traits are nice personality traits in traditional Chinese culture. The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between interpersonal self-support and physiological and psychological responses of social stress.The study1was mainly to explore the specific kind of interpersonal self-support traits can influence emotional responses of social stress and impact mechanisms. First, participants filled out The Interpersonal Self-Support Personality Scale for college students, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory of Chinese Version, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Short form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS-SF), the State Shame Scale and the Cognitive Appraisals Questionnaire. Then, Trier Social Stress Test were implemented. Finally, participants filled fill the Cognitive Appraisals Questionnaire, and the State Shame Scale the Short form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS-SF). Study1found that the interaction between interpersonal independence and experimental conditions on negative mood was significant, β=-0.30, p<0.05, after controlling of the Big Five personality and self-esteem. The interaction between interpersonal independence and experimental conditions on negative mood was significant, β=-0.28, p<0.05, after controlling of the Big Five personality and self-esteem. Path analysis revealed that the influence of interpersonal independence on negative mood or shame was partially mediated by threat appraisals.The Study2aimed to further validate the influence of interpersonal independence on negative mood or shame in Study1, and to require the influence of interpersonal independence on salivary cortisol response. In order to exclude the influence of the strange situation or speech task itself and other factors, and to explore the relationship between the number of evaluators to the emotional and physiological social stress responses.1interviewer conditions and4interviewer experimental conditions were set up in Trier Social Stress Test system. The content and measurement of scales were same as Study1, but the negative mood and feelings of shame measuring joined the third measurement (45minutes after the end of the experimental task). Salivary cortisol measured every15minutes at once, total of five times. Study2found that no matter under1interviewer conditions or4interviewer conditions, the negative mood of low interpersonal independent group was higher than high interpersonal independent group, p<0.05. The main effect of interpersonal independence on shame and salivary cortisol was not significant, p>0.05. The main effect of time on negative mood (F=27.07, p<0.05), shame (F=19.83,p<0.05) and salivary cortisol (F=3.68, p<0.05) was significant, the peak levels were significantly higher than baseline levels and recovery after social evaluation stress, P<0.05.Laboratory social stress situations can induce negative mood, feelings of shame, salivary cortisol increasing. The influence of interpersonal independence on negative mood or shame was partially mediated by threat appraisals, the lower the level of interpersonal independence, the higher the threat assessment, the higher negative mood and shame. The number of interviewer in social stress laboratory could not influence the negative mood, shame, and salivary cortisol responses.