The impact of trait displaced aggression and social support on cardiovascular reactivity

摘要

Research demonstrates that cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) predicts hypertension and contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, social support can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. People with high levels of trait displaced aggression (TDA) aggress against innocent individuals, such as family and friends, thus pushing away important sources of social support. The current study was the first to manipulate social support and look at the interaction of TDA, provocation, and social support on CVR and displaced aggression. Contrary to expectations, social support did not moderate the effect of TDA on either systolic blood pressure (SBP) or displaced aggression. However, among provoked participants, those who received social support displayed significantly less displaced aggression than those in the no social support or no interaction control conditions. Implications of these findings for reducing aggression are discussed.