This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Carrère, S. Articles by Hawkins, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Carrère, S. Articles by Hawkins, M. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Roles of Marriage and Anger Dysregulation in Biobehavioral Stress Responses

Department of Family and Child Nursing at the University of Washington School of Nursing, Seattle, carrere{at}u.washington.edu

Dan Yoshimoto, MS

Department of Psychology at the University of Washington, Seattle

Angela Mittmann, BS

Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles

Erica M. Woodin, MA

Department of Psychology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook

Amber Tabares, PhC

Department of Psychology at the University of Washington, Seattle

Jodie Ullman, PhD

California State University, San Bernardino

Catherine Swanson, BS

Department of Family and Child Nursing at the University of Washington, School of Nursing, Seattle

Melissa Hawkins, MA

Department of Psychology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City

Physiological and behavioral correlates of anger dysregulation in adults were evaluated in the context of marital stress. Fifty-four married couples participated in a series of laboratory procedures that included electrocardiogram measures during a 15-min marital conflict interaction and an interview assessing their inability to regulate anger (anger dysregulation). Results from the multivariate regression analyses indicated that the nature of the couple’s relationship, rather than individual levels of anger dysregulation, predicted lower parasympathetic cardiac activity (indexed by high-frequency heart period variability) and shorter cardiac interbeat intervals. Anger dysregulation, rather than the dyadic relationship, was predictive of greater displays of angry behavior during the marital conflict interaction. The importance of contextual factors in stress processes, such as stress due to marriage, are discussed in light of research linking poor marital quality to greater health risks for women than for men.

Key Words: anger dysregulation • marriage • heart period variability • cardiovascular reactivity • gender • marital stress

Biological Research For Nursing, Vol. 7, No. 1, 30-43 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1099800405275657


CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?