ANGER EXPRESSION, AGE, AND BLOOD-PRESSURE IN MODERNIZING SAMOAN ADULTS

Objective: Relationships among anger expression, age, and blood pressu re (BP) were studied in a cross-sectional sample of 593 American and W estern Samoan adult men and women, 25 to 55 years of age. Prior studie s indicated that anger coping is an important psychosocial domain in m odernizing Samoans. Methods: Anger expression was assessed using a mod ified 24-item version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory composed of anger-in, anger-out, and anger-control, along with 4 Samoan culture-s pecific anger items. Age and sex stratified analyses were performed. B ody-mass adjusted BP was regressed on the anger expression subscales a nd age. Results: In women less than or equal to 40 years of age, anger -out was significantly (p < 0.01) and negatively related to adjusted d iastolic BP. Young women from American and Western Samoa who outwardly expressed anger least frequently had higher adjusted diastolic BP. Co nclusion: The significant influence of anger expression on BP in young modernizing Samoan women may be because: a) increased stress from the interaction of traditional gender role-related domestic demands and m ore opportunities for individual socioeconomic activities; and b) the culturally normative pattern of suppressed emotional expression.