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Modernization in the Samoas and children's reactivity: a pilot study
1Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI.
Psychosomatic Medicine
|September 1, 1994
Summary
Societal modernization impacts children's cardiovascular health. Western Samoan children showed higher blood pressure and heart rate reactivity than modernized American Samoan children, suggesting modernization may reduce stress responses.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Sociology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Societal modernization is linked to lifestyle changes that may affect cardiovascular health.
- Previous research suggests a connection between modernization and physiological responses to stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of societal modernization on blood pressure and heart rate reactivity in Samoan children.
- To compare cardiovascular responses to an acute stressor between children from Western Samoa and American Samoa.
Main Methods:
- Studied ethnic Samoan children from Western Samoa (less modernized) and American Samoa (more modernized).
- Measured systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate reactivity during a standardized television video game procedure.
Main Results:
- Western Samoan children exhibited significantly greater systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate reactivity compared to American Samoan children.
- These findings indicate an inverse association between societal modernization and hemodynamic responses to acute stressors.
Conclusions:
- Societal modernization and adopting a modernized lifestyle may attenuate cardiovascular reactivity to stressors.
- Further research is needed to explore the specific mechanisms and implications for children's cardiovascular risk.