Perceived Stress and Ambulatory Blood Pressure Dipping for Young Adults: The Buffering Roles of Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Engagement in Self-Selected Leisure Activities
Mentor 1
Kayla Johnson
Mentor 2
Marcellus Merritt
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
27-4-2018 1:00 PM
Description
Perceived stress (PSS) has been associated with dysregulated daily blood pressure rhythms. Specifically, higher PSS is linked with less nighttime blood pressure (BP) dipping, a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Childhood socioeconomic status (SES), assessed through highest parental education attainment, is associated with differential nighttime BP dipping. SES as a coping resource can carry long-lasting effects on health; that is, higher childhood SES provides an extra layer of protection as one develops, whereas lower childhood SES is associated with less nighttime BP dipping in young adults, as well as higher heart rate (HR) and systolic BP during recovery. Thus, we are invested in studying how stress management interventions can help with BP and HR control, thereby reducing risks for CVD within the population of young adults from various SES backgrounds and PSS scores. Traditional stress management interventions have good short-term efficacy, but their sustainability is dubious, partly because they are hard to do and require substantial alterations to daily routines. The present study instead utilizes Self-Selected Leisure Activities (SSLAs), recreational activities that one finds intrinsically enjoyable and are performed with the express purpose of relaxation/mental escape. We predicted that PSS would be linked with less nighttime BP decline in general and at notably lower SES, but that these trends would be improved on a day in which one does an SSLA, versus another day when not doing an SSLA. Bivariate correlations showed that on a day in which one did an SSLA, PSS was linked with significantly greater nighttime BP dipping at higher, but not lower, childhood SES levels. Future studies need to uncover novel protective factors for less privileged persons. We are currently devising an SSLA-based intervention focused on maximizing the core psychosocial dimensions of SSLAs (e.g., distraction) that are most positively related to better health outcomes.
Perceived Stress and Ambulatory Blood Pressure Dipping for Young Adults: The Buffering Roles of Childhood Socioeconomic Status and Engagement in Self-Selected Leisure Activities
Union Wisconsin Room
Perceived stress (PSS) has been associated with dysregulated daily blood pressure rhythms. Specifically, higher PSS is linked with less nighttime blood pressure (BP) dipping, a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Childhood socioeconomic status (SES), assessed through highest parental education attainment, is associated with differential nighttime BP dipping. SES as a coping resource can carry long-lasting effects on health; that is, higher childhood SES provides an extra layer of protection as one develops, whereas lower childhood SES is associated with less nighttime BP dipping in young adults, as well as higher heart rate (HR) and systolic BP during recovery. Thus, we are invested in studying how stress management interventions can help with BP and HR control, thereby reducing risks for CVD within the population of young adults from various SES backgrounds and PSS scores. Traditional stress management interventions have good short-term efficacy, but their sustainability is dubious, partly because they are hard to do and require substantial alterations to daily routines. The present study instead utilizes Self-Selected Leisure Activities (SSLAs), recreational activities that one finds intrinsically enjoyable and are performed with the express purpose of relaxation/mental escape. We predicted that PSS would be linked with less nighttime BP decline in general and at notably lower SES, but that these trends would be improved on a day in which one does an SSLA, versus another day when not doing an SSLA. Bivariate correlations showed that on a day in which one did an SSLA, PSS was linked with significantly greater nighttime BP dipping at higher, but not lower, childhood SES levels. Future studies need to uncover novel protective factors for less privileged persons. We are currently devising an SSLA-based intervention focused on maximizing the core psychosocial dimensions of SSLAs (e.g., distraction) that are most positively related to better health outcomes.
