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

• Published in: Psychophysiology 2020-11, Vol.57 (11), p.e13660-n/a
• Main Authors: O’Riordan, Adam, Howard, Siobhán, Brown, Eoin, Gallagher, Stephen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood pressure; cardiovascular reactivity; Emotions; Heart rate; negative social relationships; Personality; Social inhibition; Social interactions; Social support; stress; type D personality
• ISSN: 0048-5772; 1469-8986; 1540-5958
• DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13660

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. Although Type D personality has been associated with atypical cardiovascular reactivity to stress, the mediating factors that facilitate this association remain unclear. The findings from this study indicate that lower social support and increased perceptions of negative social relationships mediate the association between Type D personality and atypical cardiovascular reactivity.