Family support and cardiovascular responses in married couples during conflict and other interactions

This study examined the relation between perceived support from family and cardiovascular (CV) responses to interaction in 45 married couples, 24 to 50 years old. Gender-specific median splits on Family Support scores from the Brief Social Support Questionnaire defined high versus low support groups. CV responses were obtained from both spouses during baseline and 3 stressors: reading control, conversing about events of the day, and conflict discussion. Men with low support had higher systolic (SBP) and diastolic pressure (DBP) than men with high support or either group of women at baseline and during all task periods (p < .004 and .05). Women with high support did not differ in blood pressure (BP) from women with low support. Men and women with low support had higher vascular resistance indexes (VRI) than those with high support, during all periods (p < .0015), and reported lower dyadic satisfaction and total dyadic adjustment. Because a disproportionate number of non-White participants reported low family support, secondary analyses that included race as a covariate were conducted. Covarying for race did not produce substantial results for any of the measures (SBP, p < .05; DBP, p < .058; VRI, p < .021). Post-hoc analyses were also conducted, in which the marital dyad was considered the unit of analysis. For these analyses, in which both spouses' perceptions of family support as high or low were considered together, the wife's perceived support did not influence the husband's BP, whereas his perceived support did influence his BP (ps < .03). For VRI in both men and women, the spouses' support level, as well as the participant's own support level, affected responses (ps < .02). Thus, high family support is associated with both marital and CV benefits for both husbands and wives, although husbands may benefit more.