Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2025

Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
The Mediation Effect of Coping Strategies between Personality and Blood Pressure in Pregnancy Complicated by
Sabrina Chapuis-de-Andrade1,2, Carmen Moret-Tatay3,4, Tatiana Quarti Irigaray5
1Postgraduate Program in Medicine and Health Sciences, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 90619-900, Brazil.
Background:
Hypertension is the most common medical condition during pregnancy. Hypertensive disorders are associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes for both mother and fetus. This study examined the role played by personality and coping strategies in relation to blood pressure levels during pregnancy. The specific goal was to study whether coping strategies can mediate the effect of personality in pregnant women with hypertension.
Methods:
A sample of 351 pregnant women was enlisted, encompassing 192 pregnancies complicated by hypertension. This is a cross-sectional study where personality traits were measured by the five-factor model and coping was evaluated by Jalowiec's coping inventory scale.
Results:
Personality can partially predict systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Openness to experience trait is inversely correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Conversely, emotion-focused coping directly correlated with blood pressure levels. Systolic (β = -0.14; p < 0.05) and diastolic (β = -0.15; p < 0.05) blood pressure were also predicted by openness to experience.
Conclusions:
It is recommended to reinforce the development of coping strategies which focus more on the problem than on the emotion, avoiding detrimental effects of emotional coping in blood pressure levels during pregnancy.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Factors affecting Blood pressure
Physiological Factors:
Coping Strategies: Problem Focused
For example, consider a student who struggles to understand their...
Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
Hypertension and Regulation of Blood Pressure
Special considerations while measuring blood pressure
Monitoring Both Arms:
Monitoring BP in both arms during the initial assessment is advisable, as the systolic value may differ by five to ten mm Hg between arms. For subsequent BP assessments, use the arm with the higher reading.
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...

