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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Perceived social support, coping styles, and Chinese immigrants' cardiovascular responses to stress
Yuen Shan Christine Lee1, Sonia Suchday, Judith Wylie-Rosett
1Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
Background:
Social support and coping strategies are important determinants of health, especially for those in the immigrant community adjusting to a new environment.
Purpose:
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.
Method:
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.
Conclusion:
Findings suggest that high level of social support and the use of reappraisal coping strategies were associated with attenuated cardiovascular responses to stress.
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