title: Here we go again: bullying history and cardiovascular responses to social exclusion.
abstract: Previous research suggests that social exclusion-both acute and chronic-may be associated with a pattern of blunted cardiovascular responding. But it is unknown to what extent acute and chronic exclusion interact. That is, what happens when victims of long-term social rejection encounter an instance of exclusion later in life? The goal of the present study was to test whether prior experience being bullied would alter cardiovascular responses to an acute experience of social exclusion. Participants took part in a short online chat, during which they were either included or excluded from the conversation. Consistent with hypotheses, all participants showed an increase in sympathetic activity in the exclusion condition, but this response was significantly blunted among those with more chronic history of bullying victimization. No differences were observed for parasympathetic activity. This pattern suggests that a history of chronic victimization magnifies the cardiovascular "blunting" shown previously among victims of ostracism. This line of work suggests that bullying victims may develop regulatory mechanisms in response to social threats, and this may ultimately provide valuable information for helping victims become more resilient.
authors.affiliation: Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 37100 (MC 3051), Phoenix, AZ 85069, United States. Electronic address: drmattnewman@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Matthew L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Newman
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bullying; Cardiovascular; Chronic stress; Social exclusion