Psychology News Robot on Nostr: DATE: February 13, 2025 at 06:00AM SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG ** Research quality varies ...
DATE: February 13, 2025 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
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TITLE: Loneliness may explain why social anxiety is linked to blunted stress response, study suggests
URL: https://www.psypost.org/loneliness-may-explain-why-social-anxiety-is-linked-to-blunted-stress-response-study-suggests/
People who experience high levels of social anxiety may show a weaker cardiovascular response to stressful situations, and new research suggests that feelings of loneliness could be a key factor in this link. The study found that socially anxious individuals reported feeling lonelier, and this loneliness was associated with a diminished increase in blood pressure during stress, a response that could potentially have negative long-term health implications. The findings were recently published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology.
Previous studies have shown that social anxiety is associated with a range of health problems, including heart issues, inflammation, and high blood pressure. One area of particular interest has been how socially anxious individuals respond to acute stress, the kind of short-term stress we experience in everyday challenges. However, the findings from these studies have been inconsistent. Some research has indicated that socially anxious people exhibit reduced cardiovascular responses to stress, while others have found the opposite or no relationship at all. This inconsistency prompted researchers to look for factors that might explain these varying results and to better understand the connection between social anxiety and the body’s reaction to stress.
“I have a strong passion for understanding how psychological factors influence physical health, particularly cardiovascular health,” explained study author Adam O’Riordan. “My research at the University of Texas at San Antonio (PHASELab) focuses on identifying how stress responses serve as a pathway linking social anxiety, loneliness, and other psychological factors to cardiovascular outcomes. By examining physiological responses to stress—such as cardiovascular reactivity and recovery—I aim to uncover mechanisms that contribute to long-term health risks like hypertension and cardiovascular disease.”
To investigate this further, a team of scientists explored whether loneliness plays a role in the relationship between social anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity. They recruited 658 adults from a larger ongoing study examining health and well-being across midlife in the United States. Participants visited a clinical research unit over two days.
On the first day, they completed questionnaires designed to measure their levels of social anxiety and loneliness. Social anxiety was assessed using a questionnaire that asked about fear and anxiety in various social situations, such as talking to authority figures or being the center of attention. Loneliness was measured using a scale that included statements about feeling isolated, lacking close relationships, and not having anyone to turn to.
On the second day, participants underwent a cardiovascular reactivity protocol. This involved a period of rest to establish a baseline, followed by two stress-inducing tasks: a mental arithmetic task and a Stroop color-word task.
During the mental arithmetic task, participants had to solve math problems of varying difficulty within a time limit. The task adjusted to their performance, becoming harder if they answered correctly and easier if they made mistakes. The Stroop task required participants to identify the color of a word presented on a screen, but the word itself was the name of a different color (for example, the word “blue” printed in red ink). This task is known to create mental conflict and stress as people have to override their automatic reading response.
Throughout both the baseline rest period and the stress tasks, the researchers continuously monitored participants’ systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading), diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number), and heart rate. Participants also reported their subjective stress levels on a scale of one to ten before and after the stress tasks. This allowed the researchers to confirm that the tasks were indeed perceived as stressful.
As expected, the researchers found that the stress tasks successfully increased participants’ blood pressure and heart rate, and participants reported feeling more stressed after the tasks, confirming the tasks were stressful. The study also confirmed that higher levels of social anxiety were associated with greater self-reported stress in response to the tasks.
However, surprisingly, when looking at the direct relationship between social anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity, the researchers found no significant associations. In other words, social anxiety alone did not directly predict how much participants’ blood pressure or heart rate changed during the stress tasks.
In contrast, loneliness showed a significant association with blood pressure reactivity. Higher levels of loneliness were linked to lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity, meaning that lonelier individuals showed a smaller increase in blood pressure during stress.
The researchers then tested whether loneliness might explain the relationship between social anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity. Using a statistical technique called mediation analysis, they found that loneliness did indeed act as a mediator. This means that social anxiety was associated with higher levels of loneliness, and this increased loneliness, in turn, was associated with diminished blood pressure responses to stress.
Essentially, the pathway appeared to be that social anxiety leads to increased loneliness, and loneliness then contributes to a blunted blood pressure response during stressful situations. This mediating effect of loneliness was significant for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, but not for heart rate.
The researchers highlighted that while a strong cardiovascular response to stress was once thought to be solely detrimental to health, recent evidence suggests that a blunted, or weakened, response can also be problematic. An inadequate cardiovascular reaction to stress might indicate a disengagement from the stressful situation or a dysregulation of the body’s stress response system.
“Socially anxious individuals often limit their opportunities to form meaningful social connections due to persistent negative self-beliefs, negative interpretations of social events, and avoidance of social situations,” O’Riordan told PsyPost. “As a result, they frequently report heightened levels of social isolation and loneliness. Findings from our study indicate that loneliness is a key factor in social anxiety, contributing to adverse physiological and psychological responses to acute stress and, ultimately, poorer health outcomes.”
The researchers acknowledged some limitations of their study. The study’s design cannot definitively prove that social anxiety causes loneliness, which then causes blunted cardiovascular reactivity. The direction of these relationships could be more complex. For instance, it is possible that blunted cardiovascular reactivity could, in itself, contribute to increased anxiety. It is also unclear whether the observed effects are stable over time or if they fluctuate with changes in a person’s life circumstances.
Additionally, the study used a general population sample, which means that the participants exhibited a range of social anxiety symptoms rather than representing individuals with a diagnosed social anxiety disorder. This could mean that the effects observed in this study might be more pronounced in clinical populations where social anxiety is more severe and chronic.
Despite these limitations, the findings suggest that loneliness may be an important factor explaining why some socially anxious individuals show blunted blood pressure responses to stress. This blunted response, while seemingly counterintuitive, might be a mechanism that could contribute to adverse health outcomes over time.
The study, “Loneliness mediates the association between trait social anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress,” was authored by Adam O’Riordan and Aisling M. Costello.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/loneliness-may-explain-why-social-anxiety-is-linked-to-blunted-stress-response-study-suggests/
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SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG
** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------
TITLE: Loneliness may explain why social anxiety is linked to blunted stress response, study suggests
URL: https://www.psypost.org/loneliness-may-explain-why-social-anxiety-is-linked-to-blunted-stress-response-study-suggests/
People who experience high levels of social anxiety may show a weaker cardiovascular response to stressful situations, and new research suggests that feelings of loneliness could be a key factor in this link. The study found that socially anxious individuals reported feeling lonelier, and this loneliness was associated with a diminished increase in blood pressure during stress, a response that could potentially have negative long-term health implications. The findings were recently published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology.
Previous studies have shown that social anxiety is associated with a range of health problems, including heart issues, inflammation, and high blood pressure. One area of particular interest has been how socially anxious individuals respond to acute stress, the kind of short-term stress we experience in everyday challenges. However, the findings from these studies have been inconsistent. Some research has indicated that socially anxious people exhibit reduced cardiovascular responses to stress, while others have found the opposite or no relationship at all. This inconsistency prompted researchers to look for factors that might explain these varying results and to better understand the connection between social anxiety and the body’s reaction to stress.
“I have a strong passion for understanding how psychological factors influence physical health, particularly cardiovascular health,” explained study author Adam O’Riordan. “My research at the University of Texas at San Antonio (PHASELab) focuses on identifying how stress responses serve as a pathway linking social anxiety, loneliness, and other psychological factors to cardiovascular outcomes. By examining physiological responses to stress—such as cardiovascular reactivity and recovery—I aim to uncover mechanisms that contribute to long-term health risks like hypertension and cardiovascular disease.”
To investigate this further, a team of scientists explored whether loneliness plays a role in the relationship between social anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity. They recruited 658 adults from a larger ongoing study examining health and well-being across midlife in the United States. Participants visited a clinical research unit over two days.
On the first day, they completed questionnaires designed to measure their levels of social anxiety and loneliness. Social anxiety was assessed using a questionnaire that asked about fear and anxiety in various social situations, such as talking to authority figures or being the center of attention. Loneliness was measured using a scale that included statements about feeling isolated, lacking close relationships, and not having anyone to turn to.
On the second day, participants underwent a cardiovascular reactivity protocol. This involved a period of rest to establish a baseline, followed by two stress-inducing tasks: a mental arithmetic task and a Stroop color-word task.
During the mental arithmetic task, participants had to solve math problems of varying difficulty within a time limit. The task adjusted to their performance, becoming harder if they answered correctly and easier if they made mistakes. The Stroop task required participants to identify the color of a word presented on a screen, but the word itself was the name of a different color (for example, the word “blue” printed in red ink). This task is known to create mental conflict and stress as people have to override their automatic reading response.
Throughout both the baseline rest period and the stress tasks, the researchers continuously monitored participants’ systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading), diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number), and heart rate. Participants also reported their subjective stress levels on a scale of one to ten before and after the stress tasks. This allowed the researchers to confirm that the tasks were indeed perceived as stressful.
As expected, the researchers found that the stress tasks successfully increased participants’ blood pressure and heart rate, and participants reported feeling more stressed after the tasks, confirming the tasks were stressful. The study also confirmed that higher levels of social anxiety were associated with greater self-reported stress in response to the tasks.
However, surprisingly, when looking at the direct relationship between social anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity, the researchers found no significant associations. In other words, social anxiety alone did not directly predict how much participants’ blood pressure or heart rate changed during the stress tasks.
In contrast, loneliness showed a significant association with blood pressure reactivity. Higher levels of loneliness were linked to lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure reactivity, meaning that lonelier individuals showed a smaller increase in blood pressure during stress.
The researchers then tested whether loneliness might explain the relationship between social anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity. Using a statistical technique called mediation analysis, they found that loneliness did indeed act as a mediator. This means that social anxiety was associated with higher levels of loneliness, and this increased loneliness, in turn, was associated with diminished blood pressure responses to stress.
Essentially, the pathway appeared to be that social anxiety leads to increased loneliness, and loneliness then contributes to a blunted blood pressure response during stressful situations. This mediating effect of loneliness was significant for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, but not for heart rate.
The researchers highlighted that while a strong cardiovascular response to stress was once thought to be solely detrimental to health, recent evidence suggests that a blunted, or weakened, response can also be problematic. An inadequate cardiovascular reaction to stress might indicate a disengagement from the stressful situation or a dysregulation of the body’s stress response system.
“Socially anxious individuals often limit their opportunities to form meaningful social connections due to persistent negative self-beliefs, negative interpretations of social events, and avoidance of social situations,” O’Riordan told PsyPost. “As a result, they frequently report heightened levels of social isolation and loneliness. Findings from our study indicate that loneliness is a key factor in social anxiety, contributing to adverse physiological and psychological responses to acute stress and, ultimately, poorer health outcomes.”
The researchers acknowledged some limitations of their study. The study’s design cannot definitively prove that social anxiety causes loneliness, which then causes blunted cardiovascular reactivity. The direction of these relationships could be more complex. For instance, it is possible that blunted cardiovascular reactivity could, in itself, contribute to increased anxiety. It is also unclear whether the observed effects are stable over time or if they fluctuate with changes in a person’s life circumstances.
Additionally, the study used a general population sample, which means that the participants exhibited a range of social anxiety symptoms rather than representing individuals with a diagnosed social anxiety disorder. This could mean that the effects observed in this study might be more pronounced in clinical populations where social anxiety is more severe and chronic.
Despite these limitations, the findings suggest that loneliness may be an important factor explaining why some socially anxious individuals show blunted blood pressure responses to stress. This blunted response, while seemingly counterintuitive, might be a mechanism that could contribute to adverse health outcomes over time.
The study, “Loneliness mediates the association between trait social anxiety and cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress,” was authored by Adam O’Riordan and Aisling M. Costello.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/loneliness-may-explain-why-social-anxiety-is-linked-to-blunted-stress-response-study-suggests/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot Psych Today Unofficial Bot (npub1f9w…zken)
NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at Psychology/Health Research Bot (npub1qwp…e9uy)
Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com
EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org
READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org
It's primitive... but it works... mostly...
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy psychotherapist group (npub1x3e…zuw2) psychotherapists group (npub1wu6…vf2v) psychology group (npub1wde…dg4n) socialpsych group (npub14cm…6ev9) socialwork group (npub1qc5…3jwr) psychiatry group (npub1mmd…d9x9) #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist