Sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity as a function of the appraised gender relevance of the stressor

Previous research suggests that sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity are a function of the gender relevance of the stressor. The authors examined the role of a stressor's gender relevance as a mediator of sex differences in cardiovascular reactivity. The cardiovascular reactivity of 121 male and female college students to the cold-pressor test was compared under feminine- and masculine-relevant stressor instructions. The women were expected to show greater cardiovascular reactivity than the men were to the test relevant to women, whereas the men were expected to show greater cardiovascular reactivity than the women were to the masculine cold-pressor test. Results supported these predictions for systolic blood pressure reactivity, but not heart rate reactivity. Diastolic blood pressure results were mixed. The women showed greater diastolic reactivity than the men did to the feminine-relevant test, but the men did not show greater diastolic reactivity than the women did to the masculine test. The influence of sex differences in cognitive appraisal of situations on cardiovascular reactivity and coronary heart disease is discussed.