Workplace social support and ambulatory cardiovascular activity in New York City traffic agents

This study examined the associations of social support from coworkers and supervisors to workday ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate. Specifically, analyses examined the association of work-related social support to the following measures: 1) baseline blood pressure and heart rate at the start...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychosomatic medicine 2003-03, Vol.65 (2), p.167-176
Main Authors: Karlin, William A, Brondolo, Elizabeth, Schwartz, Joseph
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Blood Pressure
Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory
Female
Heart Rate
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Middle Aged
Models, Psychological
New York City
Occupational Health
Police
Sex Characteristics
Social Support
Stress, Psychological
Workplace
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study examined the associations of social support from coworkers and supervisors to workday ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate. Specifically, analyses examined the association of work-related social support to the following measures: 1) baseline blood pressure and heart rate at the start of the workday, 2) blood pressure and heart rate during high stress periods, 3) blood pressure and heart rate levels throughout the workday. Participants included male (N = 36) and female (N = 34) New York City Traffic Enforcement Agents. Mixed-model regression analyses were used to assess the effects of self-reported measures of workplace social support on workday ambulatory blood pressure. Workplace support was associated with workday ambulatory blood pressure levels, with the effects depending on the source of support and the gender of the participant. For women, immediate supervisor support was negatively associated with workday systolic blood pressure level, and a similar negative trend was found for workday diastolic blood pressure level. For men, coworker support was negatively associated with workday systolic blood pressure level. We found an interaction of social support with stress level (ie, baseline vs. high stress) such that immediate supervisor support was negatively associated with systolic blood pressure during high-stress conditions, but no effects were found under resting conditions. These findings suggest that workplace social support is associated with workday ambulatory blood pressure, especially during stressful work periods.
ISSN:0033-3174
1534-7796
DOI:10.1097/01.psy.0000033122.09203.a3