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Depressive Symptoms, Trait Aggression, and Cardiovascular Reactivity to a Laboratory Stressor

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Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Depression and anger/aggression-related traits are thought to promote coronary disease, at least in part, through their associations with stress-related cardiovascular processes. It is unclear whether the effects of these factors on cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) are redundant, additive, or synergistic.

Purpose

The main goal of this study was to examine the independent and interactive effects of depressive symptoms and anger/aggression-related traits in promoting CVR.

Methods

Participants were 63 healthy females who completed the Beck Depression Inventory and Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and performed a stressful speaking task. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) and heart rate were recorded.

Results

Significant interaction effects indicated that depressive symptoms were positively associated with SBP and DBP reactivity among women high in verbal aggression but not among those low in verbal aggression.

Conclusions

Depressive symptoms and verbal aggression may interact to promote exaggerated blood pressure responses to stressors, a possible marker for mechanisms that contribute to heart disease.

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Acknowledgments

We thank G. Terence Wilson and Alex Kusnecov for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

Support for this research was provided by the Rutgers University Academic Excellence Fund and by a Charles and Johanna Busch Biomedical Research Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 53 Avenue E, Piscataway, NJ, 08854-8040, USA

    Julia D. Betensky M.S. & Richard J. Contrada Ph.D.

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  1. Julia D. Betensky M.S.
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  2. Richard J. Contrada Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Richard J. Contrada Ph.D..

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Betensky, J.D., Contrada, R.J. Depressive Symptoms, Trait Aggression, and Cardiovascular Reactivity to a Laboratory Stressor. ann. behav. med. 39, 184–191 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-010-9176-6

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