Support as Intimidation: When Social Interaction Elevates Stress-Related Blood Pressure

Abstract

In discussions of social support, an assumption is often made that helpful social interventions reduce stress and enhance well-being and health. However, social psychologists have long drawn attention to the fact that when support is interpreted by the receiver as interference or evaluation, it can heighten the experience of anxiety associated with stress. In the present study, 120 healthy females undertook a stressful laboratory-based task in one of three conditions: namely, in the presence of an emotionally supportive confederate, an instrumentally supportive confederate, or alone. Blood pressure was monitored throughout. The results show that instrumental support was associated wiThelevated systolic blood pressure response to stress, that emotional support did not differ from no support in its effect, and that the effects of support were accounted for by participants’ ratings of confederates’ evaluative potential. In particular, a transactional model of stress, incorporating appraisals of task demands and coping resources, was helpful in adding clarity to the relationships. The present study sheds light on aspects of social support that require consideration when designing helping interventions for stress-related illnesses.