Defensive hostility and cardiovascular responses to stress in young men

The relationship between hostility, defensiveness and cardiovascular reactivity to stress was evaluated in a laboratory study. A total of 46 men aged 18-45 years with extreme scores on the Cook–Medley Hostility (Ho) and the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability (MC) scales, were recruited to create four groups: Defensive Hostile (DH: high Ho, high MC), Nondefensive Hostile (NDH: high Ho, low MC), Nonhostile Defensive (NHD: low Ho, high MC) and Nonhostile Nondefensive (NHND: low Ho, low MC). After a resting baseline, three stressors were administered: the cold pressor task, a public speech task and an anger recall task. Both DHs and NDHs displayed elevated baseline systolic blood pressures in comparison to others. DH and NHND men in comparison to NDH men exhibited increased diastolic blood pressure reactivity on the cold pressor task. There were no significant differences in reactivity between groups during the mental stressors. To summarize, the positive association between hostility and resting blood pressure supports previous research on the association between hostility and the development of coronary artery disease. Further, the current laboratory study and other laboratory studies (in contrast to field studies) do not provide strong evidence to suggest that DHs in comparison to others may be at increased risk for developing coronary artery disease.