Department of Psychology, Centre for Social Issues Research, Study of Anxiety, Stress and Health Laboratory, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Psychophysiology. 2020 Mar;57(3):e13496. doi: 10.1111/psyp.13496. Epub 2019 Oct 25.
To understand the influence of social relationships on cardiovascular responses to stress, the present study investigated perceived affectionate support as a mediating variable explaining the association between specific attachment bonds (i.e., mother, father, partner, best friend) and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR). Utilizing a standardized stress testing protocol, 138 young adults completed measures of attachment and social support, with continuous cardiovascular measurements obtained using the Finometer Pro hemodynamic monitor. Results showed that the association between anxious and avoidant attachment and reactivity were mediated by perceived affectionate support; insecure attachment was linked to lower levels of perceived social support, which in turn was associated with lower CVR. For anxious attachment, this was noted only for mothers (SBP: B = -0.94, 95% CI [-1.94, -0.20]; DBP: B = -0.57, [-1.27, -0.10]), fathers (SBP: B = -0.72, [-1.42, -0.17]; DBP: B = -0.48, [-1.01, -0.13]), and best friends (SBP: B = -0.64, [-1.23, -0.18]; DBP: B = -0.40, [-0.81, -0.12]). For avoidant attachment, it was evident only for fathers (SBP: B = -0.70, [-1.33, -0.17]; DBP: B = -0.48, [-0.92, -0.15]) and partners (SBP: B = -0.78, [-1.64, -0.09]; DBP: B = -0.53, [-1.10, -0.11]). These findings suggest that insecure attachment is associated with lower levels of reactivity, which have been linked to negative health outcomes such as poor self-reported health, depression, and obesity. Overall, this research expands on the support and relationship science literature by incorporating under-researched aspects of social relationships (i.e., specific attachment styles) and focusing on the mechanisms by which they are associated with physiological stress responses.
为了理解社会关系对压力心血管反应的影响，本研究调查了感知到的亲爱支持作为一个中介变量，解释特定依恋关系（即母亲、父亲、伴侣、最好的朋友）与心血管反应性（CVR）之间的关联。利用标准化的应激测试方案，138 名年轻成年人完成了依恋和社会支持的测量，使用 Finometer Pro 血液动力学监测仪连续测量心血管。结果表明，焦虑和回避依恋与反应性的关联受感知到的亲爱支持的调节；不安全的依恋与感知到的社会支持水平较低有关，而社会支持水平较低又与较低的 CVR 有关。对于焦虑依恋，这种情况仅在母亲（SBP：B=-0.94，95%CI[-1.94，-0.20]；DBP：B=-0.57，[-1.27，-0.10]）、父亲（SBP：B=-0.72，[-1.42，-0.17]；DBP：B=-0.48，[-1.01，-0.13]）和最好的朋友（SBP：B=-0.64，[-1.23，-0.18]；DBP：B=-0.40，[-0.81，-0.12]）中观察到。对于回避依恋，仅在父亲（SBP：B=-0.70，[-1.33，-0.17]；DBP：B=-0.48，[-0.92，-0.15]）和伴侣（SBP：B=-0.78，[-1.64，-0.09]；DBP：B=-0.53，[-1.10，-0.11]）中明显。这些发现表明，不安全的依恋与较低的反应性有关，而较低的反应性与较差的自我报告健康、抑郁和肥胖等负面健康结果有关。总的来说，这项研究通过纳入社会关系中研究较少的方面（即特定的依恋风格），并关注它们与生理应激反应相关的机制，扩展了支持和关系科学文献。
