SOCIAL SUPPORT, INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOR & CV REACTIVITY

越来越多的证据表明，一个人的社交网络 可能是健康和幸福的一个重要决定因素--例如， 社会孤立的人似乎在所有原因的风险更大 过早死亡率，包括心血管疾病的死亡率。 初步证据表明， 心理挑战是冠状动脉病变的潜在危险因素 疾病和高血压，人类和动物研究表明， 过度的反应可能具有一些重要的心理社会相关性。 拟议项目的总体目标是进一步调查 社会支持对心血管反应性的影响 从而推进了我们对一种可能机制的理解 社会关系可能会改变心血管健康。 模型 它强调人际关系的两个基本方面， 功能-支配与服从（此处称为“评价”） 和从属关系与敌对关系（这里称为“从属关系”）。 前两 研究的目的是调查如何改变在附属 和评价维度的人际互动与合作伙伴， 改变伴侣对受试者心血管疾病的影响 对实验室挑战的反应。 第二组两项研究 旨在研究伴侣的存在 可能会改变心血管反应性，探索 社会关系对绩效激励的影响 社会威胁和相关的心血管反应降低。 的 第三组两项研究的目的是检查的普遍性， 社会支持对反应性的影响，探讨 这些影响在男性和女性，在个人与冠状动脉倾向， 行为，并在主要关系的背景下。 在一起， 这三项研究将促进我们对其中一个问题的理解， 社会过程可能改变心血管疾病的机制 风险

A growing body of evidence suggests that an individual's social network may be an important determinant of health and well-being -- for example, socially isolated individuals appear to be at greater risk for all causes of premature mortality, including mortality from cardiovascular disease. Preliminary evidence implicates excessive cardiovascular reactivity to psychological challenge as a potential risk factor for coronary artery disease and hypertension, and human and animal studies suggest that excessive reactivity may have some important psychosocial correlates. The overall objective of the proposed project is to further investigate the effects of social support on cardiovascular responsivity to challenge in humans, thereby advancing our understanding of one plausible mechanism by which social relationships might alter cardiovascular health. A model is employed which emphasizes two fundamental dimensions of interpersonal functioning -- dominance vs. submissiveness (here called "evaluation") and affiliation vs. hostility (here called "affilation"). The first two studies are designed to investigate how alterations in the affiliative and evaluative dimensions of interpersonal interaction with a partner can alter the partner's influence on a subject's cardiovascular responsiveness to a laboratory challenge. The second set of two studies is designed to investigate the mechanisms by which a partner's presence may alter cardiovascular reactivity, exploring the neutralizing impact of social affiliation on the performance incentive effects associated with social threat, and associated reductions in cardiovascular response. The third set of two studies is designed to examine the generalizability of the effects of social support on reactivity, exploring the influence of these effects in males and females, in individuals with coronary-prone behavior, and within the context of a primary relationship. Together, these three studies will advance our understanding of one of the mechanisms by which social processes may alter cardiovascular disease risk.