Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Relationship of early life stress and psychological functioning to blood pressure in the CARDIA study
Barbara J Lehman1, Shelley E Taylor, Catarina I Kiefe
1Department of Psychology, Western Washington University, USA.
Objective:
Low childhood socioeconomic status (CSES) and a harsh early family environment have been linked with health disorders in adulthood. In this study, the authors present a model to help explain these links and relate the model to blood pressure change over a 10-year period in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults sample.
Design:
Participants (N = 2,738) completed measures of childhood family environment, parental education, health behavior, and adult negative emotionality.
Main Outcome Measures:
These variables were used to predict initial systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively) and the rate of blood pressure change over 10 years.
Results:
Structural equation modeling indicated that family environment was related to negative emotions, which in turn predicted baseline DBP and SBP and change in SBP. Parental education directly predicted change in SBP. Although African American participants had higher SBP and DBP and steeper increases over time, multiple group comparisons indicated that the strength of most pathways was similar across race and gender.
Conclusion:
Low CSES and harsh family environments help to explain variability in cardiovascular risk. Low CSES predicted increased blood pressure over time directly and also indirectly through associations with childhood family environment, negative emotionality, and health behavior.
Related Concept Videos
Psychoneuroimmunology: Cardiovascular Disease
A key area of focus in PNI is the relationship between stress and coronary...
Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle
Blood Pressure
The average BP in an adult is typically around 120/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). In this measurement, the numerator (120) indicates the systolic pressure, which is the pressure in the arteries during the contraction of the heart's ventricles as blood is expelled. The denominator (80) represents the diastolic...
Blood Pressure
Psychological Responses to Stress
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...

