Facets of openness to experience are associated with cardiovascular reactivity and adaptation across both active and passive stress exposures

Physiological reactivity and habituation to acute psychological stress: The influence of trait extraversion

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Adaptive physiological responses to stress have been suggested as a potential mechanism facilitating the association between extraversion and positive health outcomes. The present study examined the influence of extraversion on physiological reactivity and habituation to a standardized psychological stress task presented as two separate laboratory sessions approximately 48 days apart.

METHODS

The present study utilized data from the Pittsburgh Cold Study 3. Participants in the study (N = 213, mean age = 30.13, SD = 10.85 years; female = 42.3 %) completed a standardized stress testing protocol twice, at two separate laboratory sessions. The stress protocol consisted of a speech preparation period (5-minutes), a public specking task (5-minutes), and a mental arithmetic task with observation (5-minutes). Trait extraversion was assessed using 10-items from the international personality item pool (IPIP). Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR) and salivary cortisol (SC) were assessed throughout a baseline phase and the stress task phase.

RESULTS

Extraversion was statistically significantly associated with larger DBP and HR reactivity in response to the initial stress exposure, as well as greater habituation of DBP, MAP and HR on repeated stress exposure. No statistically significant associations emerged between extraversion and SBP responses, SC responses or self-reported state affective responses.

CONCLUSION

Extraversion is associated with greater cardiovascular reactivity, as well as pronounced cardiovascular habituation to acute social stress. These findings may indicate an adaptive response pattern amongst highly extraverted individuals and a potential mechanism leading to positive health outcomes.

Extraversion is associated with lower cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Extraversion has been associated with positive physical health outcomes, with adaptive cardiovascular responses to stress being one potential physiological mechanism. The present study examined the influence of extraversion on both cardiovascular reactivity and cardiovascular habituation to an acute psychological stress task (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT)) in a sample of healthy undergraduate students.

METHODS

A sample of 467 undergraduate students completed the Big Five Inventory (BFI) to assess trait extraversion and attended a single stress testing session. The testing session included two identical stress-testing protocols, each consisting of a 10-minute baseline and 4-minute PASAT. Cardiovascular parameters including heart rate (HR), systolic/diastolic blood pressure (S/DBP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were recorded throughout the testing session. State measures of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA), as well as post task measures of self-reported stress were used to assess psychological experiences of the stress task.

RESULTS

Extraversion was significantly associated with lower self-reported stress in response to the initial stress exposure, but not the second stress exposure. Higher levels of extraversion were associated with lower SBP, DBP, MAP and HR reactivity in responses to both exposures to the stressor. However, no significant associations were observed between extraversion and cardiovascular habituation to recurring psychological stress.

CONCLUSION

Extraversion is associated with lower cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress and this relationship persists upon repeated exposures to the same stressor. Cardiovascular responses to stress may indicate a potential mechanism facilitating the association between extraversion and positive physical health outcomes.

OLD IDEAS, NEW DIRECTIONS: RE-EXAMINING THE PREDICTIVE UTILITY OF THE HEMODYNAMIC PROFILE OF THE STRESS RESPONSE IN HEALTHY POPULATIONS

The 'reactivity hypothesis' has a long and fruitful history in health psychology and behavioural medicine, with elements of its thesis taken as core and others lost in the plethora of research on its utility as a theory of psychosomatic disease. One such thesis is that the underlying hemodynamic profile of the stress response may be particularly revealing when detailing the impact of psychological stress on the development of cardiovascular disease. This paper re-examines old ideas surrounding the hemodynamic profile of the stress response, asking why its health-predictive properties were never fully explored. Further, this paper reviews the evidence that a vascular profile of stress responding may be especially predictive of disease development, particularly in the case of hypertension. In addition, measurement of hemodynamic profile as well as its known psychosocial moderators are reviewed including how examination of patterns of cardiovascular-stress response adaptation may extend the field. This paper highlights that the extension of the reactivity hypothesis to include both hemodynamic profile and patterns of cardiovascular stress-response adaptation may hold much explanatory power in detailing the impact of how stress responding and stress tolerance promotes disease development.

Type D personality and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress: The mediating effects of social support and negative social relationships

Type D personality has been consistently associated with adverse cardiovascular health with atypical cardiovascular reactions to psychological stress one potential underlying mechanism. As Type D individuals have been noted to report lower social support and greater perceptions of negativity in social interactions, this study examined if the association between Type D personality and cardiovascular reactivity was mediated by these social relationships. A sample of 195 undergraduate students (138 female) participated in this observational study, where they completed measures assessing Type D personality (DS14), social support, and perceptions of negative social relationships (National Institute of Health social relationship scales), before undergoing a traditional cardiovascular reactivity protocol. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP; DBP), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) were monitored throughout. ANCOVAs and regressions indicated that Type D personality was associated with lower cardiovascular reactivity to a mental arithmetic stressor. Furthermore, mediation analyses (process macro) indicated that the relationship between Type D personality and cardiovascular reactivity was mediated via increased perceptions of negative social relationships, as well as lower levels of social support. Apart from a significant association between Type D personality and increased HR reactivity, all results failed to withstand adjustment for the individual effects of negative affect (NA) and social inhibition (SI) in controlled analyses. Overall, these findings suggest that the predictive utility of Type D personality on cardiovascular reactivity above and beyond the individual effects of NA and SI is limited, and may vary depending on the cardiovascular parameter of focus.

Establishing the validity of a novel passive stress task

Laboratory tasks used to elicit a cardiovascular stress response in the laboratory can involve either active or passive coping. However, in previous work, passive stress tasks often incorporate a distinct physical stress element, such as the handgrip or cold pressor task, meaning observed changes in cardiovascular parameters may be the result of the physical element of the stressor rather than truly reflecting psychological stress. The present study aimed to establish the validity of a psychological passive stressor; one more analogous to active tasks than those previously employed in laboratory studies. Twenty-six young, healthy adults completed a speech task in the laboratory following a resting baseline period. Twelve months later, they were invited back to the laboratory and watched the video recording of their speech. Analyses confirmed that while both tasks elicited significant SBP and DBP change (all ps < .001), only the active task was associated with HR and CO reactivity (both ps < .001), while only the passive task was associated with TPR reactivity (p = .028). Furthermore, the passive stressor was associated with a mixed hemodynamic profile, whereas the active stressor was associated with a clear myocardial profile. This study confirms that watching a video recording of oneself complete a speech task is associated with a more vascular response profile, a response associated with passive coping contexts.

Vulnerability to stress: Personality facet of vulnerability is associated with cardiovascular adaptation to recurring stress

It is increasingly suggested that personality traits are critical to understanding patterns of cardiovascular stress adaptation. However, studies have focused on higher-order traits with no research having examined underlying facet effects to repeated stress. The examination of facets provides a more granular examination, which has the potential to identify specific personality components that are relevant within the context of psychophysiological stress adaptation. This study objective was to determine if the underlying facets which encapsulate the dimension of emotional stability, are associated with cardiovascular adaptation to recurring stress. Continuous cardiovascular monitoring and psychometric measures were collated from 79 healthy young male and female adults, across a protocol of recurring active stress tasks. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the facet of vulnerability was associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure adaptation across the protocol. More specifically, vulnerability was negatively associated with adaptation to recurring stress, such that those highest in vulnerability displayed a sensitization to the recurring stressor. No significant effects emerged for any other facet. Importantly, this research adds to the existing literature examining stress adaptation and has implications for future research on the relevance of examining facet effects. This study is the first to implicate the personality facet of vulnerability which encapsulates an individual's tendency to feel unable to cope with stress and becoming hopeless when faced with emergency situations, in the context of cardiovascular stress adaptation. Taken together, this study suggests that the facet of vulnerability is a critical component to consider in the context of cardiovascular stress adaptation.