Stressful Social Interactions Research Articles

Different social experiences drive the development of divergent stress coping styles in female swordtails (Xiphophorus nigrensis).

Individual variation in stress coping styles is widespread and consequential to health and fitness. Proactive (bold behavior, low stress reactivity, low cognitive flexibility) and reactive (shy behavior, high stress reactivity, high cognitive flexibility) coping styles are found in many species, but the developmental forces shaping them remain elusive. We examined how social influences, specifically mating interactions, shape the development of adult female coping styles with a manipulative rearing experiment using El Abra swordtails, Xiphophorus nigrensis. We raised juvenile females in environments with different male reproductive phenotypes: coercive-only, courting-only, or complex (both coercive and courting males). At adulthood, we measured female stress reactivity (cortisol release following acute stress), boldness (scototaxis and open field responses), and cognitive flexibility (as inhibitory control in a detour task). Females raised in coercive and complex environments developed higher cortisol reactivity than females raised with only courtship. Stress coping trait correlations varied significantly across social environments producing different coping styles across treatments. Traditional proactive and reactive stress coping styles developed in the coercive-only environment with negative correlations between stress response and boldness, stress response and cognitive flexibility, and boldness and cognitive flexibility. Meanwhile, the courtship-only environment produced a negative correlation between stress response and boldness. We thus demonstrate that the relationship between stress response and boldness can be socially modulated. These findings suggest that developmental variation in social experiences can shape suites of traits with complex relationships; and that highly stressful social interactions, such as sexual coercion, can be a strong driver of stress coping styles.

Early adversity and positive parenting: Association with cognitive outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication and repetitive behaviors. Children with ASD are statistically more likely to experience early adversity; however, little is known about the types of early adversity that place these children at risk, the role of parenting as a protective factor, and how this early life stress impacts cognitive outcomes. We assessed early adversity in 302 children (ASD=98) aged 6-16 years old, using parent-based report. To identify protective factors, we assessed parenting styles using parent surveys. Executive functions were assessed in the children using the WISC-V. Children with ASD had an increased incidence of familial stressors compared to the typically developing (TD) group. Positive parenting was associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of familial adverse events for both children with ASD and TD children. Examining the relationship between adversity and cognitive outcomes, in young children (6-11 years) with ASD, environmental stressors were associated with cognitive impairments. Findings suggest children with ASD may be at higher risk for familial adversity than their TD peers. However, all children benefit from positive parenting styles, which may mitigate the adverse effects of family-based early life stress. LAY SUMMARY: Some key features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) include difficulties with communication and social impairments. This means that children with ASD may be more likely to experience early adversity (stressful social interactions which take place during childhood) than children without ASD. Research in typically developing (TD) children has shown that experiencing more stressful events in childhood can cause changes in the brain, which can potentially impact the child's memory, reasoning, and decision-making skills later in life. However, there is evidence to suggest that having a nurturing relationship with a parent can offset some of the negative impacts of childhood adversity. In our study, we found that children with ASD are more likely to experience family-related stress compared to TD children. Having a positive relationship with a parent, however, was linked to experiencing this type of stress less often for all children, regardless of whether they were diagnosed with ASD. We also found that stressors related to environmental factors like financial instability were associated with lower cognitive abilities in children with ASD under 12 years of age. Understanding how these factors interact and differ in children with ASD can help to build stronger families and help children with ASD to thrive throughout their development.

Autonomic influences on heart rate during marital conflict: Associations with high frequency heart rate variability and cardiac pre-ejection period

Psychosocial factors predict the development and course of cardiovascular disease, perhaps through sympathetic and parasympathetic mechanisms. At rest, heart rate (HR) is under parasympathetic control, often measured as high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV). During stress, HR is influenced jointly by parasympathetic and sympathetic processes, the latter often quantified as pre-ejection period (PEP). In studies of cardiovascular risk factors that involve social interaction (e.g. marital conflict), HF-HRV might be altered by speech artifacts, weakening its validity as a measure of parasympathetic activity. To evaluate this possibility, we tested associations of HF-HRV and PEP with HR at rest and across periods of marital conflict interaction that varied in experimentally-manipulated degrees of speech in 104 couples. At rest, only HF-HRV was independently related to HR, for both husbands and wives. During speaking, listening, and recovery periods, husbands’ and wives’ HF-HRV and PEP change independently predicted HR change. These findings support interpretation of HF-HRV as a parasympathetic index during stressful social interactions that may confer risk for cardiovascular disease.

Cigarette craving and stressful social interactions: The roles of state and trait social anxiety and smoking to cope

BackgroundPrevious research indicates that social anxiety (SA) is a risk factor for the maintenance and relapse of smoking behaviors. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The current study tested the effects of state and trait levels of SA as well as smoking to cope with symptoms of SA on craving during a social stressor task in abstinent conditions. MethodsParticipants (n = 60) were daily smokers, aged 18–30. Participants attended two sessions: a baseline session and a second session, wherein they engaged in a social stressor task while deprived from nicotine for 24 h. Subjective ratings of cigarette craving and state levels of SA were assessed six times throughout the task. Data were analyzed via multilevel modeling. ResultsBoth trait SA and some forms of smoking to cope with symptoms of SA were more likely to predict increased craving during times of high, relative to low, social stress. Further, individuals with higher state SA, greater smoking to cope behaviors, and those who experience greater relief of social distress by smoking experienced greater craving throughout the task. These effects remained after controlling for nicotine dependence, withdrawal symptoms, depression, and other symptoms of anxiety and stress. Smoking to cope with symptoms of SA did not moderate the relationship between state SA and craving. ConclusionsSmokers high in SA (state and trait) and smoking to cope with symptoms of SA may be at risk for continued smoking and relapse because of the intensity of cravings they experience during stressful social situations.

DNA Methylation of BDNF Gene in Schizophrenia.

BackgroundAlthough genetic factors are risk factors for schizophrenia, some environmental factors are thought to be required for the manifestation of disease. Epigenetic mechanisms regulate gene functions without causing a change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that regulates synaptic transmission and plasticity. It has been suggested that BDNF may play a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. It is established that methylation status of the BDNF gene is associated with fear learning, memory, and stressful social interactions. In this study, we aimed to investigate the DNA methylation status of BDNF gene in patients with schizophrenia.Material/MethodsThe study included 49 patients (33 male and 16 female) with schizophrenia and 65 unrelated healthy controls (46 male and 19 female). Determination of methylation pattern of CpG islands was based on the principle that bisulfite treatment of DNA results in conversion of unmethylated cytosine residues into uracil, whereas methylated cytosine residues remain unmodified. Methylation-specific PCR was performed with primers specific for either methylated or unmethylated DNA.ResultsThere was no significant difference in methylated or un-methylated status for BDNF promoters between schizophrenia patients and controls. The mean duration of illness was significantly lower in the hemi-methylated group compared to the non-methylated group for BDNF gene CpG island-1 in schizophrenia patients.ConclusionsAlthough there were no differences in BDNF gene methylation status between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, there was an association between duration of illness and DNA methylation.

Enmeshment Schema and Quality of Life Deficits: The Mediating Role of Social Anxiety.

Social anxiety is associated with significant functional impairment and poor quality of life. However, there is a paucity of research on how early childhood and family dynamics may be related to social anxiety and its impact on quality of life. We investigated the role of enmeshment schemas, cognitive structures associated with emotional over-involvement with and lack of differentiation from family. Enmeshment is associated with considerable functional impairment, including elevated anxiety and depression and impaired relationship satisfaction. As enmeshment schemas predict withdrawal from stressful social interactions, they may facilitate the development of social anxiety and, through that mechanism, lead to reduced quality of life. Participants completed measures of these constructs. Social anxiety mediated the negative association between enmeshment and quality of life, particularly within the domains of personal growth, social functioning, and achievement. Implications for novel etiological conceptualizations of social anxiety and subsequent treatment interventions are discussed.

HPA and SAM axis responses as correlates of self- vs parental ratings of anxiety in boys with an Autistic Disorder

Anxiety and Autistic Disorder (AD) are both neurological conditions and both disorders share some features that make it difficult to precisely allocate specific symptoms to each disorder. HPA and SAM axis activities have been conclusively associated with anxiety, and may provide a method of validating anxiety rating scale assessments given by parents and their children with AD about those children. Data from HPA axis (salivary cortisol) and SAM axis (salivary alpha amylase) responses were collected from a sample of 32 high-functioning boys (M age=11yr) with an Autistic Disorder (AD) and were compared with the boys' and their mothers' ratings of the boys' anxiety. There was a significant difference between the self-ratings given by the boys and ratings given about them by their mothers. Further, only the boys' self-ratings of their anxiety significantly predicted the HPA axis responses and neither were significantly related to SAM axis responses. Some boys showed cortisol responses which were similar to that previously reported in children who had suffered chronic and severe anxiety arising from stressful social interactions. As well as suggesting that some boys with an AD can provide valid self-assessments of their anxiety, these data also point to the presence of very high levels of chronic HPA-axis arousal and consequent chronic anxiety in these boys.

Validation of the Ambivalent and Purposeful Engagement – Trait Measure

The Ambivalent and Purposeful Engagement-Trait Measure (APE-TM) was developed to assess two ways that people may react to stressful social interactions: ambivalent engagement (AE: counterproductive attempts to avoid thoughts and feelings) and purposeful engagement (PE: effortfully approaching and working through thoughts and feelings). We carried out three studies in undergraduate and clinical populations to (i) test the robustness of previous psychometric findings and (ii) determine whether AE and PE are specific to social anxiety. Across three studies, our results indicate that the APE-TM is a psychometrically valid measure of ambivalent and purposeful engagement. However, PE appeared less specific to social anxiety and may represent a more general tendency toward adaptive coping. In contrast, AE was specific to social anxiety in both undergraduate samples and clinical samples of individuals with a variety of anxiety disorders and depression.

Reactivity to Exclusion Prospectively Predicts Social Anxiety Symptoms in Young Adults

Peer victimization leads to negative outcomes such as increased anxiety and depression. The prospective relationship between peer victimization and social anxiety in children and adolescents is well established, and adults with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are more likely than individuals with other anxiety disorders to report a history of teasing. However, a crucial bridge between these findings (peer victimization in young adults) is missing. We manipulated perceptions of peer exclusion in a young adult sample (N=108) using the Cyberball Ostracism Task. Reactivity to exclusion prospectively predicted social anxiety symptoms at a 2-month follow-up, whereas self-reported teasing during high school and current relational victimization did not. This research suggests that reactions to peer victimization may be a worthwhile target for clinical interventions in young adults. Targeting how young adults react to stressful social interactions such as exclusion may help prevent the development of SAD. Future research should test if reactivity to exclusion plays a role in the relationship between other disorders (e.g., depression) and peer victimization.

Standardized Environmental Enrichment Supports Enhanced Brain Plasticity in Healthy Rats and Prevents Cognitive Impairment in Epileptic Rats

Environmental enrichment of laboratory animals influences brain plasticity, stimulates neurogenesis, increases neurotrophic factor expression, and protects against the effects of brain insult. However, these positive effects are not constantly observed, probably because standardized procedures of environmental enrichment are lacking. Therefore, we engineered an enriched cage (the Marlau™ cage), which offers: (1) minimally stressful social interactions; (2) increased voluntary exercise; (3) multiple entertaining activities; (4) cognitive stimulation (maze exploration), and (5) novelty (maze configuration changed three times a week). The maze, which separates food pellet and water bottle compartments, guarantees cognitive stimulation for all animals. Compared to rats raised in groups in conventional cages, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited increased cortical thickness, hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal levels of transcripts encoding various genes involved in tissue plasticity and remodeling. In addition, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited better performances in learning and memory, decreased anxiety-associated behaviors, and better recovery of basal plasma corticosterone level after acute restraint stress. Marlau™ cages also insure inter-experiment reproducibility in spatial learning and brain gene expression assays. Finally, housing rats in Marlau™ cages after severe status epilepticus at weaning prevents the cognitive impairment observed in rats subjected to the same insult and then housed in conventional cages. By providing a standardized enriched environment for rodents during housing, the Marlau™ cage should facilitate the uniformity of environmental enrichment across laboratories.

Contagious resource depletion and anxiety? Spreading effects of evaluative concern and impression formation in dyadic social interaction

Two studies examined how adopting an impression formation or evaluative concern mindset affects individuals' own and their interaction partner's experience of potentially stressful social exchanges, such as first meeting situations and interethnic interaction. Our main hypothesis was that adopting an impression formation mindset would, by diverting individuals' focus away from themselves and toward others, reduce both their own and their partner's cognitive resource depletion and negative affect. Consistent with predictions, positive effects of impression formation were evident and were “contagious” in that they were evident across individuals who received the mindset instructions and their partners, who were unaware of the manipulation. The positive effects of impression formation instructions were generally evident both in comparison to evaluative concern instructions, which provided similar structure, and in comparison to no instructions at all. Thus, adopting an impression formation mindset seems an effective strategy for minimizing negative outcomes experienced in stressful social interactions.

Depression in Adults With Mild Intellectual Disability: Role of Stress, Attributions, and Coping

The experience of stressful social interactions, negative causal attributions, and the use of maladaptive coping efforts help maintain depression over time in the general population. We investigated whether a similar experience occurs among adults with mild intellectual disability. We compared the frequency and stress impact of such interactions, identified causal attributions for these interactions, and determined the coping strategies of 47 depressed and 47 nondepressed adults with mild intellectual disability matched on subject characteristics. The depressed group reported a higher frequency and stress impact of stressful social interactions, more negative attribution style, and more avoidant and less active coping strategies did than the nondepressed group. Findings have implications for theory building and development of psychotherapies to treat depression.

Stressful Social Interactions Experienced by Adults With Mild Intellectual Disability

Adults with intellectual disability are vulnerable to stressful social interactions. We determined frequency and severity of various stressful social interactions, identified the social partners in these interactions, and examined the specific interpersonal skill difficulties of 114 adults with mild intellectual disability. Participants' characteristic risk factors for stressful social interactions were also identified. Minor and unintentional negative actions of others had high frequency but low severity of stress. Serious and intentional negative actions of others had a low frequency but high severity of stress. Stressful social interactions with other people who have intellectual disability occurred frequently and had a high severity. Difficulty controlling aggression predicted stressful social interactions. Findings are beneficial to developers of interventions to decrease stressful social interactions.

Trait hostility and ambulatory blood pressure among traffic enforcement agents: The effects of stressful social interactions.

This study investigated the hypothesis that trait hostility is associated with heightened cardiovascular reactivity to potentially stressful social interactions but not to nonsocial activities in the workplace. Participants were 73 (39 women) New York City traffic enforcement agents (TEAs) who patrol the streets and issue summonses for vehicular and parking violations. During their patrols, TEAs face potentially stressful interactions when they encounter motorists and pedestrians who may be angry about receiving summonses. Mood and ambulatory blood pressure were initially measured when TEAs were recently hired and attending classes at the training academy (Time 1), and were subsequently assessed again once the TEAs began independently patrolling the city streets (Time 2). Random effects regression models yielded a significant interaction of hostility and work activity on ambulatory systolic blood pressure at Time 2. For those high in hostility, but not for those low in hostility, systolic blood pressure levels were higher while interacting with members of the public than during nonsocial work activities. The findings support the notion that situational factors affect the association of hostility to cardiovascular reactivity, and that interpersonal stressors in the workplace elicit cardiovascular activation among those high in hostility.

Coping Strategies of Adults with Mild Intellectual Disability for Stressful Social Interactions

Adults with mild intellectual disability (ID) experience stressful social interactions and often utilize maladaptive coping strategies to manage these interactions. We investigated the specific types of Active and Avoidant coping strategies reported by 114 adults with mild ID to deal with stressful social interactions. Open-ended responses to a sentence stem task were coded into 5 dimensions of Active and Avoidant coping. Adults with mild ID used Problem-Focused coping most frequently, and this strategy was negatively correlated with psychological distress. Emotion-Focused coping was used infrequently but was also negatively related to psychological distress. Coping accounted for a significant portion of variance in psychological distress after controlling for perceptions of stressful social interactions. Findings have important implications for informing the development of interventions to enhance the ability of adults with mild ID to cope with stressful social interactions.

Social stress and corticosterone regionally upregulate limbic N-methyl- d-aspartatereceptor (NR) subunit type NR 2A and NR 2B in the lizard anolis carolinensis

Social aggression in the lizard Anolis carolinensis produces dominant and subordinate relationships while elevating corticosterone levels and monoaminergic transmitter activity in hippocampus (medial and mediodorsal cortex). Adaptive social behavior for dominant and subordinate male A. carolinensis is learned during aggressive interaction and therefore was hypothesized to involve hippocampus and regulation of N-methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. To test the effects of social stress and corticosterone on NMDA receptor subunits (NR), male lizards were either paired or given two injections of corticosterone 1 day apart. Paired males were allowed to form dominant–subordinate relationships and were killed 1 day later. Groups included isolated controls, dominant males, subordinate males and males injected with corticosterone. Brains were processed for glutamate receptor subunit immunohistochemistry and fluorescence was analyzed by image analysis for NR 2A and NR 2B in the small and large cell divisions of the medial and mediodorsal cortex. In the small granule cell division there were no significant differences in NR 2A or NR 2B immunoreactivity among all groups. In contrast, there was a significant upregulation of NR 2A and NR 2B subunits in the large pyramidal cell division in all three experimental groups as compared with controls. The results revealed significantly increased NR 2A and NR 2B subunits in behaving animals, whereas animals simply injected with corticosterone showed less of an effect, although they were significantly increased over control. Upregulation of NR 2 subunits occurs during stressful social interactions and is likely to be regulated in part by glucocorticoids. The data also suggest that learning social roles during stressful aggressive interactions may involve NMDA receptor-mediated mechanisms.

Emotional responses to psychosocial stress in schizophrenia: the role of individual differences in affective traits and coping

Despite the well-established association between psychosocial stress and symptom exacerbation in schizophrenia, factors that account for variability in stress reactivity among individuals with this disorder are unknown. This study examined the association between affective traits, coping style, and neurocognitive functioning and subjective emotional responses during putatively stressful social interactions among individuals with schizophrenia. Self-reported mood was assessed in male schizophrenia outpatients ( n=36) and matched nonpsychiatric controls ( n=15) during a role-play test (RPT) comprised of simulated social encounters requiring assertive or affiliative skills. During the RPT, schizophrenia patients and controls reported similar elevations in negative mood and decreases in positive mood as compared to baseline mood during assertion scenes. Affiliation scenes resulted only in similar decreases in positive mood across groups as compared to baseline mood. Among schizophrenia patients, trait negative affectivity (NA) and maladaptive coping style accounted for one quarter of the variance in negative mood during the assertion RPTs, and these relationships held after controlling for baseline mood, clinical symptoms, and neurocognitive functioning. Results provide preliminary support for the validity of the social RPT as a paradigm for examining psychosocial stress in schizophrenia and suggest that trait negative affectivity and maladaptive coping are associated with individual differences in emotional responses to psychosocial stressors in schizophrenia.

Early maternal rejection and later social anxiety in juvenile and adult Japanese macaques.

This study investigated the relationships between early maternal style and subsequent juvenile and adult behavior of offspring in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Early maternal style had no effect on baseline behavior of offspring when adult. In contrast, early maternal style was correlated with the response of adult offspring to stressful social interactions, and particularly with their response to actual or potential aggression. Infants whose mothers encouraged more independence showing high rates of rejection were less fearful and did cope better with stressful situations when adult. Although based on correlational data, these results suggest that in macaques maternal rejection can promote offspring independence and the development of a less anxious personality.

Atopic dermatitis and stress: Possible role of negative communication with significant others

Clinical reports have related stressful social interactions to the course of atopic dermatitis (AD). Controlled behavioral observations of interaction patterns of AD patients and their significant others, however, were lacking. In two studies, adult AD patients and their mothers (N1 = 26) or partners (N2 = 67) engaged in a discussion of a mutual problem. Their verbal and nonverbal communication behavior was analyzed with a reliable standardized interactional coding system and compared to that of control dyads (N1 = 18, N2 = 28). Although AD patients and their significant others did not differ from controls in their self-reported satisfaction with the relationship, the behavioral observations showed less positive and more negative communication patterns compared to the control dyads. Negative interactions with significant others may prevent the solution of everyday problems and may add to the patients' stress level.

Psychologic stress increases plasma levels of prolactin, cortisol, and POMC-derived peptides in man.

Stressful social interactions have been shown to elicit increases in heart rate as well as in plasma levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol in humans. We sought to determine whether a competitive oral examination would affect plasma levels of the pituitary hormones ACTH, beta-endorphin, beta-lipotrophic hormone, and prolactin in a group of healthy young males. Seven min after beginning the examination, heart rate increased 27% and plasma levels of ACTH, beta-endorphin, beta-lipotropic hormone and prolactin rose 59%, 79%, 42%, and 46%, respectively, compared to values shortly before the examination. These hormone values returned to initial levels after the subjects returned to the waiting room. Plasma cortisol changes were similar in direction to those of ACTH but occurred about 15 min later. The present study demonstrates that a stressful social interaction can elicit rapid increases in plasma levels of the proopiomelanocortin derived peptide hormones and prolactin in man.