Interpersonal behavior and resting blood pressure in college women: a daily monitoring study.
Psychological factors have long been implicated in the development of hypertension. Most studies exploring this relationship employed questionnaires administered on only one occasion.


OBJECTIVE
to evaluate the relation between blood pressure and social behavior in the natural environment over an extended period of time.


METHODS
40 healthy young adult women at varying risk for hypertension were asked to record their behavior and affect following social interactions, three times a day for 32 days. Behaviors were representative of the interpersonal circumplex: dominance, submissiveness, agreeableness, and quarrelsomeness.


RESULTS
Casual blood pressure was significantly correlated with submissive behavior (r=.45, P<.05) and inversely correlated with agreeable behavior (r=-.35, P<.05). ANOVAs confirmed these findings and further revealed that offspring of hypertensives with relatively elevated blood pressure were most quarrelsome.


CONCLUSIONS
These results concur with the literature on the relationship between hostility and blood pressure but also suggest the importance of submissiveness in college women.
D'Antono
B
B
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. bianca.d'antono@internet.uqam.ca
Ditto
B
B
Moskowitz
D S
DS
Rios
N
N
D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D001794:Blood Pressure; D004291:Dominance-Subordination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008499:Medical Records; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*