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Social Support and Networks: Cardiovascular Responses Following Recall on Immigration Stress Among Chinese Americans

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Abstract

Social support has been shown to act as a buffer for cardiovascular responses to stress. However, little is known about how social support and networks are related to cardiovascular responses to immigration stress recall. The current study evaluated the impact of structural and functional support on cardiovascular reaction following immigrant stress recall provocation as well as the moderation effect of interdependent self-construal among first-generation Chinese immigrants. One hundred fifty Chinese immigrants were recruited in the New York Chinatown area. Participants completed questionnaires assessing their levels of social support and networks, and interdependent self-construal. Following adaptation, participants recalled a recent post-immigration stress-provoking situation. Cardiovascular measures were taken during adaptation, stressor task, and recovery period. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed. Social network size and type, as well as perceived emotional support were positively predictive of systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity changes. Instrumental support seeking was a positive predictor of SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reactivity. The moderation effect between instrumental support seeking and interdependent self-construal were significantly predictive of DBP reactivity and recovery, suggesting that perceptions about themselves in relation to others is a crucial factor for determining whether support seeking is beneficial or not. Social support was not a direct buffer on cardiovascular responses to stress among Chinese immigrants. Chinese values of interdependence and collectivism may partly explain the disconfirming results. Still, when interdependent self-construal was taken into account, Chinese immigrants who had less interdependent self-construal, but solicited more instrumental support, had faster adaptation to stress over the long term.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by NIH grant funding from Grant # R01HL077809, the Diabetes Research and Training Center Grant P60 DK020541, and Clinical and Translational Science Award Grant UL1 RR025750. The Clinical Trials Identifier is NCT00362128.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Yuen Shan Christine Lee

  2. Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA

    Sonia Suchday

  3. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA

    Judith Wylie-Rosett

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  1. Yuen Shan Christine Lee
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Correspondence to Yuen Shan Christine Lee.

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Lee, Y.S.C., Suchday, S. & Wylie-Rosett, J. Social Support and Networks: Cardiovascular Responses Following Recall on Immigration Stress Among Chinese Americans. J Immigrant Minority Health 17, 543–552 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-013-9955-9

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