Expressive component of hostility and cardiovascular reactivity to stress

The present study examined the relationship between the expressive component of hostility and cardiovascular reactivity when people cope with an stressful situation. All of theses variables are placed in a theoretical context that claims an association between cardiovascular reactivity and cardiovascular disease. A sample of women, separated in three groups on the basis of their scores on the Buss-Durkee scale, was faced to different stressful situations (time reaction in shock avoidance, mental arithmetic, Raven’s anagrams, and personal speech) while their heart rate, blood pressure, and peripheral blood volume were registered. Likewise, subjective perception of the stressful situation was measured by means of a Lykert scale in three different aspects (physiological activation, cognitive stress, and level of control). Results showed neither significance differences by groups or interaction of group by task. However, significance differences were found in cardiovascular reactivity by tasks. In the same way, we found differences in perception of physiological activation by groups.