Abstract

GUERRER, Cristina  and  . Defensive hostility and health: psychophysiological cardiovascular functioning. Temas psicol. [online]. 2008, vol.16, n.1, pp.09-33. ISSN 1413-389X.

Based on the influence of the defensive hostility in the cardiovascular diseases, as a possible psychosocial risk factor, by the excessive functioning of the cardiovascular system, in the present study we plan to examine in a much more detailed and thorough manner this functioning along the three experimental phases in the laboratory: adaptation, task and recovery. Using as situation of stress a real exam, in a sample of 130 university students forming four groups according to their scores in the Cook-Medley Hostility Inventory (Ho) and the Scale of Social Desirability of Marlowe-Crowne (Spanish version: CRP by Ávila and Tomé, 1989). The physiological variables registered throughout all phases were: heart rate, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. The main aim has been to analyze the relationship between defensive hostility and cardiovascular functioning intra phase in detail. It is expected that the cardiovascular response, activation and recovery are larger in defensive hostile individuals; showing a profile evolution intra phase characterized by the maintenance/sustained, the sensitization and the slow recovery. The results show that defensive hostile individuals presented the highest values registered in physiological variables as well as some less adaptive profiles, supporting the hypothesis about the greater predictive power of defensive hostility in relation to the cardiovascular functioning stress situations.

Keywords : Defensive hostility; Cardiovascular functioning; Etress.