Cardiovascular reactivity and cognitive appraisal in women: The role of hostility and harassment

There is significant support for the hypothesis that hostility is an independent risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) and premature mortality. Further, recent research has suggested that cardiovascular reactivity to stress can play a potential role in the pathogenic process of cardiovascular disease. It is hypothesized that the cynicism, which characterizes hostile individuals, can exacerbate cardiovascular reactivity to interpersonal stressors. Consequently, the cognitive appraisal made by hostile individuals may directly mediate their cardiovascular reactivity and risk for CHD development. There were three main purposes for this study: (a) to evaluate differences in cardiovascular reactivity among low hostility and high hostility subjects following an interpersonal stressor, (b) to evaluate the role of cognitive appraisal during anticipation and recovery from a stressor, and (c) to evaluate the effect of harassment on cardiovascular reactivity. Seventy healthy undergraduate female subjects were separated into low and high hostility groups utilizing the Cook-Medley Hostility scale. Subjects were provided with a speech stressor with and without harassment. Subjects were instructed to report the content of cognitions and the accompanying affective state at specific intervals during the experiment. Results revealed that harassed subjects, relative to non-harassed subjects, exhibited greater cardiovascular reactivity to the speech stressor, reported more negative affect, and recovered less completely during the first four minutes of the recovery period. This delayed recovery was accompanied by greater report of the cognition category "private thought," relative to non-harassed subjects. Differences in cardiovascular reactivity between the high and low hostility groups were limited to a marginally significant difference in PEP activity. These findings confirm the hypothesis that cardiovascular reactivity patterns may depend on the degree of provocation provided during interpersonal stressors and how these stressors are cognitively appraised.