Department of Sociology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 26 Nichol Ave, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Ann Behav Med. 2017 Dec;51(6):846-855. doi: 10.1007/s12160-017-9907-z.
Previous work has found that traditional masculinity ideals and behaviors play a crucial role in higher rates of morbidity and mortality for men. Some studies also suggest that threatening men's masculinity can be stressful. Over time, this stress can weigh on men's cardiovascular and metabolic systems, which may contribute to men's higher rates of cardiometabolic health issues.
The purpose of this study is to explore how masculinity threats affect men's heart rate and heart rate variability reactivity (i.e., vagal withdrawal) to masculinity feedback on a social speaking task.
Two hundred and eighty-five undergraduate males were randomly assigned to one of six conditions during a laboratory-based speech task. They received one of two feedback types (masculinity or control) and one of three feedback levels (low, high, or dropping) in order to assess whether masculinity threats influence heart rate reactivity and vagal withdrawal patterns during the speech task.
Men who receive low masculinity feedback during the speech task experienced more pronounced vagal withdrawal relative to those who received the control.
Masculinity threats can induce vagal withdrawal that may accumulate over the life course to contribute to men's relatively worse cardiometabolic health.
先前的研究发现，传统的男性气质理想和行为在男性更高的发病率和死亡率中起着关键作用。一些研究还表明，威胁男性的男子气概会带来压力。随着时间的推移，这种压力会对男性的心血管和代谢系统造成影响，这可能导致男性更高的心血管代谢健康问题。
本研究旨在探讨男子气概威胁如何影响男性的心率和心率变异性反应（即迷走神经撤退），以对社会演讲任务中的男子气概反馈。
在一项基于实验室的演讲任务中，285 名本科男性被随机分配到六种条件之一。他们接受了两种反馈类型（男子气概或控制）和三种反馈水平（低、高或下降）中的一种，以评估男子气概威胁是否会影响演讲任务中的心率反应和迷走神经撤退模式。
在演讲任务中接受低男子气概反馈的男性相对于接受控制反馈的男性表现出更明显的迷走神经撤退。
男子气概威胁会引起迷走神经撤退，这种撤退可能会随着时间的推移而积累，从而导致男性相对较差的心血管代谢健康。
