Cortisol excretion in high and low cynically hostile men

Area of Science:

• Psychoneuroendocrinology
• Health Psychology
• Behavioral Medicine

Background:

• Cynical hostility is associated with increased risk of severe illness.
• Previous research suggests physiological hyper-responsiveness links hostility and health.
• Cardiovascular reactivity studies support this proposed mechanism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate urinary cortisol excretion in relation to cynical hostility.
• To examine cortisol levels during daily activities in high and low hostile young men.

Main Methods:

• Assessed cynical hostility using the Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) Scale.
• Measured urinary cortisol excretion in young men across different times of day.
• Compared cortisol levels between high and low Ho groups during waking, daytime, and evening hours.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in cortisol excretion upon awakening between high and low Ho groups.
• High Ho group showed over double the increase in daytime cortisol excretion compared to the low Ho group.
• Cortisol level differences between groups diminished by evening.

Conclusions:

• Elevated daytime cortisol excretion in cynically hostile individuals suggests a potential physiological pathway linking hostility and health.
• Findings support the hypothesis that heightened physiological responsiveness contributes to the adverse health effects of hostility.
• Further research into psychoneuroendocrine mechanisms is warranted to understand hostility-health associations.