Avoidant coping style and verbal-cardiovascular response dissociation

This study explored the relationship between an avoidant coping style and three responses during three experimental periods (i.e., speech preparation, speech delivery, and recovery). One response was cardiovascular reactivity, the two other responses were subjective in nature: self-reports of anxiety and self-estimations of blood pressure. Subjects were 20 male and 20 female students who scored either in the upper third (i.e., high-avoiders) or lower third (i.e., low-avoiders) on cognitive avoidance (Krohne, 1989). When compared to subjects scoring low on avoidance, those high on avoidance showed greater systolic blood pressure (SEP) reactivity and evidenced verbal-autonomic response dissociation across all experimental periods. That is, their SEP increases were stronger in relation to their increases in self-reported anxiety. Verbal-autonomic response dissociation, however, did not occur for estimations of SEP, suggesting that self-reports of anxiety and estimations of autonomic responses reflect distinct response systems. These findings indicate that individuals characterized by an avoidant coping style may be at increased risk for the development of physical health problems.