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Published on: July 10, 2017
Stable pessimistic attributions interact with socioeconomic status to influence blood pressure and vulnerability to
K Grewen1, S S Girdler, S G West
1Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
Abstract:
We investigated the relationship of pessimistic attributional style (specifically, stable attributions for negative events) and socioeconomic status (SES) to cardiovascular and catecholamine profiles in a biracial sample of 37 postmenopausal women (aged 39-64 years) not taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Blood pressure (BP) variation in response to the demands of daily life was assessed by 24-hour ambulatory monitoring on a typical workday. Subjects were classified into groups by stable pessimistic attributions (high vs. low pessimism) and by SES (high vs. low). Significant SES x pessimism interactions were found. Low SES/high pessimism women demonstrated higher systolic BP (SBP) during the day, evening, and sleep periods of 24-hour ambulatory monitoring compared with the other three groups. A greater proportion of this group was in the hypertensive range (> or = 140/90 mm Hg) compared with the other groups (57% vs. 8%-29%). Low SES/high pessimism women also reported reduced available social support compared with the other three groups.
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