Issue 4
Vol. 44
2002

The effect of social support on cardiovascular responses to psychological challenge: Moderating influences of gender and situational variables
Margit Gramer

Summary
Four laboratory experiments examined the effect of the presence of nonevaluative others on cardiovascular and psychological responses to active performance situations. Male and female participants aged 18 to 33 years performed a cognitive task and a speech task either unaccompanied or in the presence of a close friend. Social support was found to attenuate cardiovascular reactivity primarily in male participants. The effects were not quite consistent over studies, though. Cognitive task appraisals and experienced distress could not explain the gender-specific effects of social support. Response attenuation was only noted with same-gender support. Opposite-gender support resulted in enhanced heart rate reactivity for both males and females. The data also indicate that perceptions of support effectiveness are of importance not just the exposure to socially supportive others.

Key words: social support, gender differences, cardiovascular reactivity, active coping

Dr. Margit Gramer
Institut für Psychologie
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Universitätsplatz 2
A-8010 Graz
Austria