Intersection of Age and Gender: Links Between Negative Interpersonal Interactions and Both Blood Pressure and Mood in Daily Life

Objective: Both age and gender have been identified as unique moderators of the association between negative interpersonal interactions and affective and physiological stress responses to these interactions. However, evidence is lacking on intersectional effects, with limited data on how gender differences in affective and physiological responses to interpersonal stress vary by age. The present study tests the hypothesis that age and gender interact to moderate the associations between acute exposure to negative interpersonal stressors and concurrent stress responses in daily life, assessed with measures of negative mood and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). Method: We tested this hypothesis using data from participants (N=644) within the New York City metropolitan area. Participants identified as either Black (51.55%) or Latinx (48.45%); the sample was approximately half men (51.55%) and ages ranged between 23 and 65 (M=39.20, SD= 9.51). Systolic and diastolic ABP data were measured every 20 min, and real-time encounters of negative interpersonal interactions and mood were assessed using ecological momentary assessment. Results:We observed that younger women, when compared to older women, showed greater mood responses to negative interpersonal interactions. In contrast, older women, in comparison to all other groups, showed greater blood pressure (BP) responses to negative interpersonal interactions. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the way in which gender affects mood and BP responses to negative interpersonal interactions may vary across the lifespan. These findings provide developmental and mechanistic insight into affective and physiological responses and have implications for understanding the development of stress-related disorders.