Acute Experiences of Negative Interpersonal Interactions: Examining the Dynamics of Negative Mood and Ambulatory Blood Pressure Responses Among Black and Hispanic Urban Adults

Overview

Journal Ann Behav Med

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Social Sciences

Date 2023 Jun 19

PMID 37335887

Authors

Matthew J Zawadzki

Jennifer E Graham-Engeland

Patrick L Robles

Maryam Hussain

Emily V Fair

Jonathan N Tobin

Andrea Cassells

Elizabeth Brondolo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Negative interpersonal interactions are associated with acute increases in ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). Yet, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are unclear.

Purpose: This study tested whether negative interpersonal interactions predict higher ABP both in the moment and during subsequent observations, and whether increases in negative mood mediate these relations. These associations were tested among Black and Hispanic urban adults who may be at higher risk for negative interpersonal interactions as a function of discrimination. Race/ethnicity and lifetime discrimination were tested as moderators.

Methods: Using a 24-hr ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design, 565 Black and Hispanic participants (aged 23-65, M = 39.06, SD = 9.35; 51.68% men) had their ABP assessed every 20 min during daytime accompanied by an assessment of negative interpersonal interactions and mood. This produced 12,171 paired assessments of ABP and self-reports of participants' interpersonal interactions, including how much the interaction made them feel left out, harassed, and treated unfairly, as well as how angry, nervous, and sad they felt.

Results: Multilevel models revealed that more intense negative interpersonal interactions predicted higher momentary ABP. Mediation analyses revealed that increased negative mood explained the relationship between negative interpersonal interactions and ABP in concurrent and lagged analyses. Discrimination was associated with more negative interpersonal interactions, but neither race/ethnicity nor lifetime discrimination moderated findings.

Conclusions: Results provide a clearer understanding of the psychobiological mechanisms through which interpersonal interactions influence cardiovascular health and may contribute to health disparities. Implications include the potential for just-in-time interventions to provide mood restoring resources after negative interactions.

Citing Articles

Moving toward affective immunology: Legacy and future directions.

Graham-Engeland J Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2024; 19:100241.

PMID: 38910934 PMC: 11190499. DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2024.100241.

References

Brondolo E, Rieppi R, Erickson S, Bagiella E, Shapiro P, McKinley P . Hostility, interpersonal interactions, and ambulatory blood pressure. Psychosom Med. 2003; 65(6):1003-11. DOI: 10.1097/01.psy.0000097329.53585.a1. View

Pascoe E, Richman L . Perceived discrimination and health: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull. 2009; 135(4):531-54. PMC: 2747726. DOI: 10.1037/a0016059. View

Kikuya M, Ohkubo T, Asayama K, Metoki H, Obara T, Saito S . Ambulatory blood pressure and 10-year risk of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular mortality: the Ohasama study. Hypertension. 2004; 45(2):240-5. DOI: 10.1161/01.HYP.0000152079.04553.2c. View

Potter L, Brondolo E, Smyth J . Biopsychosocial correlates of discrimination in daily life: A review. Stigma Health. 2020; 4(1):38-61. PMC: 7286570. DOI: 10.1037/sah0000120. View

Saban K, Motley D, Shawahin L, Mathews H, Tell D, De La Pena P . Preliminary evidence for a race-based stress reduction intervention for Black women at risk for cardiovascular disease. Complement Ther Med. 2021; 58:102710. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2021.102710. View

Richman L, Pek J, Pascoe E, Bauer D . The effects of perceived discrimination on ambulatory blood pressure and affective responses to interpersonal stress modeled over 24 hours. Health Psychol. 2010; 29(4):403-11. DOI: 10.1037/a0019045. View

Brondolo E, Libby D, Denton E, Thompson S, Beatty D, Schwartz J . Racism and ambulatory blood pressure in a community sample. Psychosom Med. 2007; 70(1):49-56. DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31815ff3bd. View

Zawadzki M, Gavrilova L . All the lonely people: Comparing the effects of loneliness as a social stressor to non-lonely stress on blood pressure recovery. Int J Psychophysiol. 2021; 167:94-101. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.06.016. View

Park I, Wang L, Williams D, Alegria M . Does anger regulation mediate the discrimination-mental health link among Mexican-origin adolescents? A longitudinal mediation analysis using multilevel modeling. Dev Psychol. 2016; 53(2):340-352. PMC: 5293666. DOI: 10.1037/dev0000235. View

10.

Llabre M, Ironson G, Spitzer S, Gellman M, Weidler D, Schneiderman N . Blood pressure stability of normotensives and mild hypertensives in different settings. Health Psychol. 1988; 7 Suppl:127-37. DOI: 10.1037/h0090276. View

11.

Smith T, Birmingham W, Uchino B . Evaluative threat and ambulatory blood pressure: cardiovascular effects of social stress in daily experience. Health Psychol. 2012; 31(6):763-6. PMC: 3369016. DOI: 10.1037/a0026947. View

12.

Nielsen L, Riddle M, King J, Aklin W, Chen W, Clark D . The NIH Science of Behavior Change Program: Transforming the science through a focus on mechanisms of change. Behav Res Ther. 2017; 101:3-11. PMC: 5756516. DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2017.07.002. View

13.

Scott S, Sliwinski M, Blanchard-Fields F . Age differences in emotional responses to daily stress: the role of timing, severity, and global perceived stress. Psychol Aging. 2013; 28(4):1076-87. PMC: 3874135. DOI: 10.1037/a0034000. View

14.

Williamson T, Thomas K, Eisenberger N, Stanton A . Effects of Social Exclusion on Cardiovascular and Affective Reactivity to a Socially Evaluative Stressor. Int J Behav Med. 2018; 25(4):410-420. PMC: 6050092. DOI: 10.1007/s12529-018-9720-5. View

15.

Linden W, Earle T, Gerin W, Christenfeld N . Physiological stress reactivity and recovery: conceptual siblings separated at birth?. J Psychosom Res. 1997; 42(2):117-35. DOI: 10.1016/s0022-3999(96)00240-1. View

16.

Broudy R, Brondolo E, Coakley V, Brady N, Cassells A, Tobin J . Perceived ethnic discrimination in relation to daily moods and negative social interactions. J Behav Med. 2006; 30(1):31-43. DOI: 10.1007/s10865-006-9081-4. View

17.

Brondolo E, Brady N, Thompson S, Tobin J, Cassells A, Sweeney M . PERCEIVED RACISM AND NEGATIVE AFFECT: ANALYSES OF TRAIT AND STATE MEASURES OF AFFECT IN A COMMUNITY SAMPLE. J Soc Clin Psychol. 2008; 27(2):150-173. PMC: 2600575. DOI: 10.1521/jscp.2008.27.2.150. View

18.

Carnethon M, Pu J, Howard G, Albert M, Anderson C, Bertoni A . Cardiovascular Health in African Americans: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2017; 136(21):e393-e423. DOI: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000534. View

19.

Glynn L, Christenfeld N, Gerin W . Recreating cardiovascular responses with rumination: the effects of a delay between harassment and its recall. Int J Psychophysiol. 2007; 66(2):135-40. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2007.03.018. View

20.

Sin N . The Protective Role of Positive Well-Being in Cardiovascular Disease: Review of Current Evidence, Mechanisms, and Clinical Implications. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2016; 18(11):106. PMC: 5060088. DOI: 10.1007/s11886-016-0792-z. View