Liang S W, Jemerin J M, Tschann J M, Irwin C E, Wara D W, Boyce W T
Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA.
Pediatrics. 1995 Dec;96(6):1101-5.
Risk behavior contributes to injuries, one of the most important sources of morbidity and mortality in adolescents. Although research has shown that environmental stress makes adolescents more likely to engage in risk behavior and to sustain injuries, the magnitude of these associations has been small. Little is known about the role of individual differences in psychobiologic reactivity to stress in moderating the impact of stressful events. In this study, we examined associations among environmental stressors, cardiovascular reactivity to stress, and the level of risk behavior in adolescent boys.
Twenty-four 14- to 16-year-old boys underwent a laboratory protocol designed to measure responses to psychologically and physically stressful tasks. Changes in heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure were measured serially at standard points in the protocol, and levels of positive and negative life events and recent risk behavior were measured using self-report questionnaires.
Neither life events nor cardiovascular reactivity were independently associated with risk behavior. Positive life events and mean arterial blood pressure reactivity significantly interacted, however, in predicting risk behavior (R2 increment = .25). Boys with high reactivity who reported numerous positive life events engaged in markedly less risk behavior than their peers.
We conclude that adolescents with exaggerated cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors are associated with less risk behavior in a setting of positive life circumstances. This result suggests that reactivity may exert protective, rather than harmful, influences in some environments.
危险行为会导致伤害，而伤害是青少年发病和死亡的最重要原因之一。尽管研究表明环境压力会使青少年更有可能从事危险行为并遭受伤害，但这些关联的程度一直较小。关于个体在心理生物学应激反应方面的差异在调节应激事件影响中的作用，我们了解得很少。在本研究中，我们考察了环境应激源、心血管应激反应以及青少年男性危险行为水平之间的关联。
24名14至16岁的男孩接受了一项实验室程序，该程序旨在测量对心理和身体应激任务的反应。在该程序的标准时间点连续测量心率和平均动脉血压的变化，并使用自我报告问卷测量积极和消极生活事件的水平以及近期的危险行为。
生活事件和心血管反应性均与危险行为无独立关联。然而，积极生活事件和平均动脉血压反应性在预测危险行为时存在显著交互作用（R2增加量 = 0.25）。报告有大量积极生活事件的高反应性男孩比同龄人从事的危险行为明显更少。
我们得出结论，在积极生活环境中，对实验室应激源有过度心血管反应的青少年与较少的危险行为相关。这一结果表明，在某些环境中，反应性可能发挥保护而非有害的影响。
