title: Perceived social support, coping styles, and Chinese immigrants' cardiovascular responses to stress.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Social support and coping strategies are important determinants of health, especially for those in the immigrant community adjusting to a new environment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study assessed the buffering effects of perceived social support and different coping styles on cardiovascular reactivity to stress among Chinese immigrants in the New York City Chinatown area.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (N = 50, 76% women, and 22-84 years old) completed questionnaires assessing their perceived social support and coping strategy preferences. They were then asked to recall a stress-provoking event related to their immigration experience in a semi-structured interview format.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hierarchical multiple regression analyses confirmed the interaction effect between perceived social support and problem-focused, emotion-focused, or reappraisal coping on heart rate reactivity. Additionally, Chinese immigrants who upheld more Chinese values were highly correlated with stronger perceived availability of social support and were more likely to incorporate the use of problem-focused and reappraisal coping styles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that high level of social support and the use of reappraisal coping strategies were associated with attenuated cardiovascular responses to stress.
authors.affiliation: Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
authors.forename: Yuen Shan Christine
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suchday
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wylie-Rosett
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001823:Body Composition; D002319:Cardiovascular System; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult