LIFE-STYLE, STRESS, AND BLOOD-PRESSURE IN A SOUTHERN BLACK-COMMUNITY

The effects of lifestyle incongruity on blood pressure were examined in research in an African-American community in the southern United States. Lifestyle incongruity is defined as the extent to which a high status style of life (based on possession of material goods and exposure to mass media) exceeds an individual's occupational class. In a sample of 186 25- to 55-year-olds, higher arterial blood pressure was related to higher lifestyle incongruity, especially among persons aged 40-55. These effects were independent of perceived chronic social role stressors, a self-report diagnosis of hypertension, age, sex, body mass, and skin color. Future research should examine more closely those social and psychological factors that might moderate the risk associated with lifestyle incongruity.