AbstractsPsychology

Research has suggested that anger and other forms of negative affect play a significant role in blood pressure (BP) regulation and that ethnic differences in BP regulatory mechanisms may be linked to disproportionate rates of Hypertension. In the present study the effects of worry and trait anxiety on blood pressure response and recovery to physical and psychological stress were explored in a sample of African American and White American college students. Continuous measurements of hemodynamic parameters were obtained as participants completed a physical and psychological stressor task. Worry and anxiety were assessed using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T). Findings indicate that 1) in general healthy individuals demonstrate similar overall patterns of hemodynamic response to physical and mental stress, 2) arterial blood pressure regulation may be influenced by some parameters more than others, depending on either ethnicity, the type of stressor encountered, or both, and perhaps the most important finding from the present study that 3) worry more than trait anxiety appears to clearly related to indices of BP regulation and vascular contributions in African Americans. Collectively, the results of the present study suggest that Worry is associated with hemodynamic response and recovery in both White and African Americans, and that this relationship appears to be robust and consistent across different stressors. The findings of the current study offer preliminary support for the influence of Perseverative Cognition on BP regulation in African Americans.