Social Support and Networks Cardiovascular Respon

Authors: Yuen Shan Christine Lee Sonia Suchday Judith WylieRosett

Publish Date: 2013/11/28

Volume: 17, Issue: 2, Pages: 543-552

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Abstract

Social support has been shown to act as a buffer for cardiovascular responses to stress However little is known about how social support and networks are related to cardiovascular responses to immigration stress recall The current study evaluated the impact of structural and functional support on cardiovascular reaction following immigrant stress recall provocation as well as the moderation effect of interdependent selfconstrual among firstgeneration Chinese immigrants One hundred fifty Chinese immigrants were recruited in the New York Chinatown area Participants completed questionnaires assessing their levels of social support and networks and interdependent selfconstrual Following adaptation participants recalled a recent postimmigration stressprovoking situation Cardiovascular measures were taken during adaptation stressor task and recovery period Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed Social network size and type as well as perceived emotional support were positively predictive of systolic blood pressure SBP reactivity changes Instrumental support seeking was a positive predictor of SBP and diastolic blood pressure DBP reactivity The moderation effect between instrumental support seeking and interdependent selfconstrual were significantly predictive of DBP reactivity and recovery suggesting that perceptions about themselves in relation to others is a crucial factor for determining whether support seeking is beneficial or not Social support was not a direct buffer on cardiovascular responses to stress among Chinese immigrants Chinese values of interdependence and collectivism may partly explain the disconfirming results Still when interdependent selfconstrual was taken into account Chinese immigrants who had less interdependent selfconstrual but solicited more instrumental support had faster adaptation to stress over the long termThis research was supported in part by NIH grant funding from Grant R01HL077809 the Diabetes Research and Training Center Grant P60 DK020541 and Clinical and Translational Science Award Grant UL1 RR025750 The Clinical Trials Identifier is NCT00362128

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