EMOTIONAL AND CARDIOVASCULAR-RESPONSES TO ADULTS ANGRY BEHAVIOR AND TO CHALLENGING TASKS IN CHILDREN OF HYPERTENSIVE AND NORMOTENSIVE PARENTS

Cardiovascular, overt-motor, and verbal-reported responses to interadu lt emotional expressions, including anger, and to challenging task sit uations were examined in a sample of 49 10-14-year-old children of hyp ertensive (EH) and normotensive parents (NT). Sons of EH parents showe d greater systolic blood pressure reactivity to interadult anger and t o the digit span task than sons of NT parents. A consistent pattern wa s not found for girls. Marital distress and overt maternal anger expre ssion predicted verbal-reported and overt-motor responses to interadul t anger. Family history of EH and sex did not predict these responses. Implications include (a) heightened systolic blood pressure response to stress may be found in sons of EH parents before they are diagnosed to have EH disorders, (b) relations between family history of EH and cardiovascular response may be sex moderated, and (c) vulnerability to stress may be related to specific familial histories and backgrounds.