EFFECTS OF HOSTILITY ON ALCOHOL STRESS-RESPONSE-DAMPENING

The purpose of this study was to compare the stress-response-dampening (SRD) effect of alcohol in hostile and nonhostile men based on a comb ined score of four subscales of the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale. Subje cts were 72 male social drinkers. Subjects' cardiac interbeat-interval , and systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity to a situationa l stressor were measured following the consumption of either alcohol, no alcohol, or an active placebo beverage. Results demonstrated that h ostile men evinced lower heart rate and systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity to the stressor when given alcohol, compared with intoxicat ed nonhostile subjects, and lower reactivity relative to all other gro ups, with the exception of SBP in the nonhostile controls. These resul ts allow for speculation that hostile men may be more likely than cont rols to experience possible SRD effects of alcohol and thus, perhaps, be predisposed to increased alcohol consumption when under stress.