Hostility, oral contraceptive use, and cardiovascular reactivity in women

Abstract

Hostility, task instructions, social desirability and cardiovascular reactivity were investigated in a exploratory study of 70 female college students and employees. Women were administered the Videotaped Clinical Interview (VC1), the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC), the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (CM), the Buss-Durkee Hostility Index (BD) and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) before undergoing a stressful discussion. Oral contraceptive users had significantly higher DBP at baseline. Based on PAQ scores, women were given instructions for the discussion task consistent or inconsistent with their gender-relevant styles. Instruction type predicted heart rate changes, and interacted with hostility to predict DBP reactivity. Interview-based hostility (VCI-H) was associated with increased DBP during the discussion task, as was being high hostile (low MC/high VCI-H). The CM and the BD had less association with heart rate and blood pressure changes. Oral contraceptive (OC) use was associated with higher SBP reactivity under stress, with highest SBP increases in the OC users concerned with social desirability. The complex interaction between trait dimensions like hostility, social desirability, and oral contraceptive use requires further investigation.