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Married people who receive a high level of social support from their family,
especially from their spouse, show better heart and blood pressure responses to
stress than couples whose family support level is low, according to a
psychiatry department study.
The findings are among the first to demonstrate that the degree of perceived
family support can make a difference in people's cardiovascular responses to
stressful situations and may help lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.
The research also highlights the value of spousal support when seeking ways to
reduce cardiovascular risks.
"We feel that support from the spouse is a very important factor in terms of
lowering cardiovascular risk," said Professor Kathleen C. Light. "It may be
something that couples need to be aware of and to work on, especially if
there's high blood pressure or heart disease present."
For the new study, published in the June issue of the International Journal of
Behavioral Medicine, Light and co-author, Sherry D. Broadwell, recruited 45
married couples 24 to 50 years old, all with a child living at home.
Each of the partners completed two standardized tests in which they rated how
happy they were with their spouse and how much support they received from the
spouse and from the family in general. Broadwell and Light then grouped the
study participants into those who reported high vs. low spouse support.
"We monitored the couples' blood pressure and other cardiovascular responses
while they interacted with each other, first conversing for 15 minutes on
general topics and then working into more challenging ones that they identified
as real conflicts in the marriage, such as money issues, raising children,"
Light explained.
The couples also were left alone during these discussions "so they could
behave as normally as possible," Light added.
Meanwhile, the researchers videotaped and tape-recorded the discussions while
monitoring their cardiovascular responses in the next room.
"We found that both during the general and the conflict discussions, people
who had more supportive relationships with their spouse had less cardiovascular
responses to the stressors," Light said. "And for men, this was reflected in
lower blood pressure and less constriction of their blood vessels, while for
women it was principally less constriction of the blood vessels."
The researchers also report that ethnicity was not a factor. "We saw the same
effects among African-American and European-American couples," Light said.
But would it make a difference in cardiovascular responses if one spouse
perceived the marital relationship as supportive while the other did not?
In terms of blood pressure changes, only what the individual believed
mattered. "He would be influenced by his perceptions, she would be influenced
by hers, but it didn't cross over," Light said.
But in terms of blood vessel constriction, there was a crossover. Blood vessel
constriction was influenced both by the husband's own perceptions of support
and the wife's perceptions. Agreement between spouses added to an increase or
decrease in blood vessel constriction.
"When it comes to reducing heart disease and stroke risks, people often tend
to look toward diet and exercise, the more physical risk factors," Light said.
"We certainly think they may benefit if they also look toward the psychological
factors in their family life."
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