TY - JOUR
T1 - Spouses' cardiovascular reactivity to their partners' suffering
AU - Monin, Joan K.
AU - Schulz, Richard
AU - Martire, Lynn M.
AU - Jennings, J. Richard
AU - Lingler, Jennifer Hagerty
AU - Greenberg, Martin S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a Pittsburgh Mind Body Center pilot grant (national institute of Health, HL076852/076858), the national institute of Aging (F32 AG031635 to J. K. M.), and a Multidisciplinary Small Grant from the University of Pittsburgh’s Research Council
PY - 2010/3
Y1 - 2010/3
N2 - A laboratory study of older adults with osteoarthritis and their spouses was conducted to examine the unique influence of exposure to suffering on caregivers' risk for impaired psychological and physical health. Spouses' blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were monitored during 2 tasks designed to capture their partners' suffering. First, spouses watched their partners (and a stranger) carry heavy logs across an 8-ft space for 3 min, a task that elicited pain expression. Second, spouses spoke about their partners' suffering (and also about a typical meal with their partners). Results showed that spouses' BP and HR increased when watching and talking about their partners' suffering, and exposure to a partner's suffering was more physiologically stressful than to a stranger's suffering. These findings suggest that heightened physiological stress caused by exposure to a loved one's suffering may be one pathway to caregivers' increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
AB - A laboratory study of older adults with osteoarthritis and their spouses was conducted to examine the unique influence of exposure to suffering on caregivers' risk for impaired psychological and physical health. Spouses' blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were monitored during 2 tasks designed to capture their partners' suffering. First, spouses watched their partners (and a stranger) carry heavy logs across an 8-ft space for 3 min, a task that elicited pain expression. Second, spouses spoke about their partners' suffering (and also about a typical meal with their partners). Results showed that spouses' BP and HR increased when watching and talking about their partners' suffering, and exposure to a partner's suffering was more physiologically stressful than to a stranger's suffering. These findings suggest that heightened physiological stress caused by exposure to a loved one's suffering may be one pathway to caregivers' increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
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U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gbp133
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gbp133
M3 - Article
C2 - 20067977
AN - SCOPUS:77249152788
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 65 B
SP - 195
EP - 201
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 2
ER -