Effects of Social Support on Cardiovascular and Cortisol Reactivity during Passive and Active Behavioral Challenge

The effects of social support on cardiovascular and cortisol reactivity during stressful situations were examined. Sixty healthy male and female participants were randomly allocated to support, no-support, or alone conditions. In the active challenge, participants had higher diastolic blood pressure in the support than the alone condition. In the passive challenge, the support condition reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity compared with no-support, and heart rate compared with the alone condition. The active and passive challenges elicited "mixed" and vascular hemodynamic profile, respectively. The results partly support the health benefits of support through reduced reactivity in stressful situations.