SPOUSE-PAIR RISK-FACTORS AND CARDIOVASCULAR REACTIVITY

Epidemiological research has identified increased risk for coronary he art disease in Type A men married to well-educated women. The present study examined mechanisms that may explain the increased risk associat ed with this specific spouse-pair combination. Cardiovascular and self -report responses to an individual, standardized laboratory stress tas k and a dyadic, interactive affect provocation task were assessed in T ype A or B men married to women of either low (less than or equal to 1 3 years) or high (>13 years) educational levels. Type A men with highl y educated spouses (i.e., the highest risk group) also reported the gr eatest anger-out tendency, high trait anger, and low anger control sco res. These men further exhibited elevated diastolic blood pressure at baseline and greater diastolic reactivity specific to the dyadic task than did the men in the lower risk groups. These findings, based on a laboratory study of spousal interactions, support the epidemiological high-risk designation of the Type A man with a highly educated spouse and confirm earlier conceptions that Type A research benefits more fro m a social interaction approach rather than from an individual trait p erspective.