Hostility, anger-in, and cardiovascular reactivity in white women

Relations between cardiovascular reactivity and cynical hostility, aggressiveness, antagonism, and anger-in were examined in White college women for conditions of high and low interpersonal stress. High stress was created by having the participants discuss an issue on which they held a strong view with a confederate who adamantly espoused an opposing view. Participants in the low-stress condition discussed an issue on which they held no strong views with a confederate who amicably expressed agreement. Participants higher in cynical hostility exhibited more systolic blood pressure reactivity than individuals lower in cynical hostility in the high interpersonal stress condition only. Also, antagonism was positively related to heart rate reactivity across conditions. However, neither aggressiveness nor anger-in was related to reactivity in either condition. Overall, cynical hostility and a disposition toward disagreeable, manipulative behaviors (i.e., antagonism) but not overt aggressive behavior were found to be related to cardiovascular reactivity.