Psychosocial predictors of natural killer cell mobilization during maritalconflict

This study examined how specific emotions relate to autonomic nervous and i mmune system parameters and whether cynical hostility moderates this relati onship. Forty-one married couples participated in a 15-min discussion about a marital problem. Observers recorded spouses' emotional expressions durin g the discussion, and cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immunologic param eters were assessed throughout the laboratory session. Among men high in cy nical hostility, anger displayed during the conflict was associated with gr eater elevations in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, cortisol, and in creases in natural killer cell numbers and cytotoxicity. Among men low in c ynical hostility, anger was associated with smaller increases in heart rate and natural killer cell, cytotoxicity. These findings suggest that models describing the impact of stress on physiology should be refined to reflect the joint contribution of situational and dispositional variables.