Hostility predicts metabolic syndrome risk factors in children and adolescents.

The authors tested in 134 African American and European American children whether hostility measured at study entry predicted the metabolic syndrome risk factors an average of 3 years later. Hostility was measured with the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (W. W. Cook & D. M. Medley, 1954) and with ratings of Potential for Hostility from interview responses. Metabolic syndrome was based on having at least 2 of the following risk factors above the 75th percentile of scores for their age, race, and gender group: body mass index, insulin resistance index, ratio of triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and mean arterial blood pressure. Children who exhibited high hostility scores at baseline were likely to exhibit the metabolic syndrome at the follow-up. The results highlight the potential importance of early prevention and intervention of behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular disease. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Central adiposity and hemodynamic functioning at rest and during stress in adolescents

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of central adiposity upon hemodynamic functioning at rest and during stress in adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, correlational study. SUBJECTS: 46 White and 49 Black normotensive adolescents with family histories of essential hypertension. MEASUREMENTS: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), cardiac output and total peripheral resistance responses were assessed at rest, during postural change, video game challenge and forehead cold stimulation. Specific lower and higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) tertiles were created for each gender and then integrated for analyses. This resulted in a lower WHR tertile of 11 Whites and 21 Blacks and an upper WHR tertile of 15 Whites and 17 Blacks. RESULTS: No differences in age, gender or ethnicity proportions were found between tertile groups (all P > 0.21). The upper WHR group showed greater body weight, waist and hip circumferences, body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfold and body surface area (all P < 0.001). Controlling for peripheral (that is, triceps skinfold) and overall (that is, BMI) adiposity, the upper WHR group exhibited greater SBP (that is, peak response minus mean pre-stressor level) to all three stressors and greater DBP reactivity to postural change and cold pressor (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Central adiposity appears to adversely influence hemodynamic functioning during adolescence. Underlying mechanisms responsible for these associations require exploration.     

Linkages between facial expressions of anger and transient myocardial ischemia in men with coronary artery disease.

The authors examined whether facial expressions of emotion would predict changes in heart function. One hundred fifteen male patients with coronary artery disease underwent the Type A Structured Interview, during which time measures of transient myocardial ischemia (wall motion abnormality and left ventricular ejection fraction) were obtained. Facial behavior exhibited during the ischemia measurement period was videotaped and later coded by using the Facial Action Coding System (P. Ekman & W. V. Friesen, 1978). Those participants who exhibited ischemia showed significantly more anger expressions and nonenjoyment smiles than nonischemics. Cook–Medley Hostility scores did not vary with ischemic status. The findings have implications for understanding how anger and hostility differentially influence coronary heart disease risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shamed into anger? The relation of shame and guilt to anger and self-reported aggression.

The relation of shame and guilt to anger and aggression has been the focus of considerable theoretical discussion, but empirical findings have been inconsistent. Two recently developed measures of affective style were used to examine whether shame-proneness and guilt-proneness are differentially related to anger, hostility, and aggression. In 2 studies, 243 and 252 undergraduates completed the Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory, the Symptom Checklist 90, and the Spielberger Trait Anger Scale. Study 2 also included the Test of Self-Conscious Affect and the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory. Shame-proneness was consistently correlated with anger arousal, suspiciousness, resentment, irritability, a tendency to blame others for negative events, and indirect (but not direct) expressions of hostility. Proneness to "shame-free" guilt was inversely related to externalization of blame and some indices of anger, hostility, and resentment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial expression and the affective component of cynical hostility in male coronary heart disease patients.

This study describes the affective component of hostility as measured by the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (Ho W. Cook & D. Medley, 1954) by examining the relationship between facial expressions of emotion and Ho scores in 116 male coronary heart disease patients. Patients underwent the videotaped Type A Structured Interview, from which facial expressions were later coded using the Facial Action Coding System. They also completed the Cook-Medley Ho scale. Facial expression of the emotion of contempt was significantly related to Ho scores; anger expression was not. Also, there was a significant interaction between hostility and defensiveness, wherein low-defensive, highly hostile people showed substantially more contempt expression than others. The implications of these findings for the construct validity of Ho and for identifying clinically important subtypes of hostility are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hostility, social support, and perceptions of work.

The aim of this study was to determine whether hostility and perceived availability of social support are related to perceptions of the work environment. The W. W. Cook and D. M. Medley (1954) Hostility (Ho) scale; the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (S. Cohen, R. Mermelstein, T. Kamarzk, & H. Hoberman, 1985); and measures of collegiality, time pressure, and job dissatisfaction were completed by 204 attorneys (159 men and 45 women). After controlling for age, gender, and other job characteristics, high Ho scores were related to lower perceived supportive collegiality at work. Low perceived availability of social support was related to greater job dissatisfaction. Neither hostility nor social support was associated with perceptions of time pressure at work. These findings suggest that hostility and availability of social support may be an important pathway linking certain job characteristics to cardiovascular disease and other illnesses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A quantitative analysis of the relationship between the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale and traditional coronary artery disease risk factors.

One possible explanation for the association between Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (Ho Scale; W. W. Cook & D. M. Medley, 1954) scores and premature coronary artery disease (CAD) morbidity and mortality is that hostile persons also have elevations on CAD risk factors. Meta-analyses with fixed and random-effects models were used to evaluate the relationship between Ho Scale scores and CAD risk factors in the empirical literature. Ho Scale scores were significantly related to body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, insulin resistance, lipid ratio, triglycerides, glucose, socioeconomic status (SES), alcohol consumption, and smoking. Although there was also heterogeneity among study outcomes, the results of conservative random effects models provide confidence in the obtained relationships. On the basis of available evidence, researchers might give attention to obesity, insulin resistance, damaging health behaviors, and SES as potential contributing factors in understanding the association between Ho Scale scores and CAD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Masculine gender role conflict: Effects on college men's psychological well-being, chemical substance usage, and attitudes towards help-seeking.

The authors investigated the effects of gender role conflict (GRC) on 148 18–55-yr-old college men's scores of psychological well-being, substance usage, and attitudes toward psychological help-seeking. Each of the 4 GRC variables was significantly related to at least 1 variable of interest. The Success, Power, and Competition variable of GRC was significantly related to (a) a decrease in psychological well-being, including scores for Trait Anger, the Angry Reaction subtype of trait anger, and the Angry Temperament subtype of trait anger, and (b) an increased report of alcohol usage. The Restricted Emotionality variable of GRC was significantly related to (a) a decrease in psychological well-being, including scores for Trait Anger and Trait Anxiety; (b) negative attitudes toward help-seeking; and (c) an increased similarity in personality style to chemical abusers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for generalized anxiety disorder with integrated techniques from emotion-focused and interpersonal therapies.

Objective: Recent models suggest that generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) symptoms may be maintained by emotional processing avoidance and interpersonal problems. Method: This is the first randomized controlled trial to test directly whether cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) could be augmented with the addition of a module targeting interpersonal problems and emotional processing. Eighty-three primarily White participants (mean age = 37) with a principle diagnosis of GAD were recruited from the community. Participants were assigned randomly to CBT plus supportive listening (n = 40) or to CBT plus interpersonal and emotional processing therapy (n = 43) within a study using an additive design. Doctoral-level psychologists with full-time private practices treated participants in an outpatient clinic. Using blind assessors, participants were assessed at pretreatment, posttreatment, 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year follow-up with a composite of self-report and assessor-rated GAD symptom measures (the Penn State Worry Questionnaire; T. J. Meyer, M. L. Miller, R. L. Metzger, & T. D. Borkovec, 1990; Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; M. Hamilton, 1959; assessor severity rating; State–Trait Anxiety Inventory-Trait Version; C. D. Spielberger, R. L. Gorsuch, R. Lushene, P. R. Vagg, & G. A. Jacobs, 1983) as well as with indices of clinically significant change. Results: Mixed models analysis of all randomized participants showed very large within-treatment effect sizes for both treatments (CI = [?.40, ?.28], d = 1.86) with no significant differences at post (CI = [?.09, .07], d = .07) or 2-year follow-up (CI = [?.01, .01]), d = .12). There was also no statistical difference between compared treatments on clinically significant change based on chi-square analysis. Conclusions: Interpersonal and emotional processing techniques may not augment CBT for all GAD participants. Trial Registry name: Clinical Trials.gov, Identifier: NCT00951652. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of racial stressors to blood pressure responses and anger expression in Black college students.

27 Black college students viewed 3 excerpts showing racist situations involving Blacks; anger-provoking, nonracist situations; and neutral situations. After each scene, blood pressure (BP) was taken; a mood checklist, the Framingham Anger Scale (S. Haynes et al; see PA, Vol 68:10702), and the Anger Expression Scale of C. Spielberger et al (1985) were administered. Analyses revealed that BP significantly increased during the presentation of racist stimuli but not of anger-provoking or neutral stimuli. Self-reports of state anger, as measured by the mood checklist, were significant for both the anger-provoking and racist stimuli. BP scores were significantly correlated to the 2 trait anger measures. Exposure to racist stimuli was associated with BP increases among Blacks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Negative affect, gender, and expressive style predict elevated ambulatory blood pressure in adolescents.

Excessive blood pressure (BP) elevations during daily activities increase cardiovascular risk and may be related to individual differences in emotionality and expressive style. Emotional traits and ambulatory BP were measured during a typical school day in 228 Black and White adolescents at risk of developing essential hypertension. Trait affect (depression, anger) predicted prevailing BP levels; this association was moderated by gender, social setting (in classroom vs with friends), and nonverbal expressive style. Relationships between emotion and BP were not explained by obesity, smoking, or alcohol use. The uniform environment and regimen of the school made it possible to attribute variations in prevailing BP to personality differences involving ways adolescents perceive and negotiate their social world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What's so unhealthy about hostility? Construct validity and psychosocial correlates of the Cook and Medley Ho scale.

The Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) scale, a measure of hostility derived from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), was recently found in 1 cross-sectional study to be related to the severity of coronary artery disease and in 2 prospective studies to predict the development of coronary heart disease. The present 2 studies attempted to address concerns about the lack of information regarding the meaning of the scale and the psychosocial characteristics of individuals with high Ho scores. In Study 1, the Ho scale demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. Data gathered on 85 undergraduates who completed a battery of inventories indicated that the scale primarily assesses suspiciousness, resentment, frequent anger, and cynical distrust of others rather than overtly aggressive behavior or general emotional distress. In Study 2, which tested 135 undergraduates on a similar battery of questionnaires, Ss with high scores displayed comparatively more anger, less hardiness, more frequent and severe hassles, and fewer and less satisfactory social supports. It is concluded that the Ho scale assesses cynical hostility and that high scores are associated with an unhealthy psychosocial risk profile. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological predictors of good health in three longitudinal samples of educated midlife women.

Concurrent and longitudinal associations between cognitive and affective personality variables—intellectual efficiency (IE), anxiety, and hostility—and observer ratings of physical health were examined in 3 longitudinal samples of women: Mills Longitudinal Study (n?=?101); Radcliffe Study (RS, n?=?118); and University of California, San Francisco Study (n?=?44). Observer ratings of health were based on participants' reports of health problems. The California Psychological Inventory (H. G. Gough, 1996) IE, Hostility, and Anxiety Scales were used in all studies at Times 1 and 2, except in RS, when at Time 1 the Zung Anxiety (W. K. Zung, 1971) and the Profile of Mood States (D. M. McNair, M. Lorr, & L. F. Droppleman, 1971) Hostility Scales were used. In the majority of analyses, EE was positively associated with good health, and Anxiety and Hostility were negatively associated with health. IE was the strongest independent predictor of health, indicating that cognitive characteristics may have an important role in health and should be examined further. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autocrine secretion of TGF-beta 1 and TGF-beta 2 by pre-adipocytes and adipocytes: a potent negative regulator of adipocyte differentiation and proliferation of mammary carcinoma cells

Concurrent and longitudinal associations between cognitive and affective personality variables--intellectual efficiency (IE), anxiety, and hostility--and observer ratings of physical health were examined in 3 longitudinal samples of women: Mills Longitudinal Study (n = 101); Radcliffe Study (RS, n = 118); and University of California, San Francisco Study (n = 44). Observer ratings of health were based on participants' reports of health problems. The California Psychological Inventory (H. G. Gough, 1996) IE, Hostility, and Anxiety Scales were used in all studies at Times 1 and 2, except in RS, when at Time 1 the Zung Anxiety (W. K. Zung, 1971) and the Profile of Mood States (D. M. McNair, M. Lorr, & L. F. Droppleman, 1971) Hostility Scales were used. In the majority of analyses, IE was positively associated with good health, and Anxiety and Hostility were negatively associated with health. IE was the strongest independent predictor of health, indicating that cognitive characteristics may have an important role in health and should be examined further.     

Short-lasting behavioural effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone in depressed women: results of placebo-controlled study

The rapid and short-lasting behavioral effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) were investigated in female patients with DSM-III-R major depression syndrome (MDS). Twenty-six depressed patients free of any medication received 0.2 mg of Protirelin (synthetic TRH) intravenously and 16 received placebo. All patients completed the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (SSAI and STAI) twice: before and 2 hr after protirelin or placebo administration. The significant improvement in patients' emotional state after TRH injection was observed on STAI (p < .001) and SSAI (p < .01). Protireline was superior to placebo on STAI (p < .005). There was no significant correlation between behavioral effects of Protirelin and changes in thyroid hormones and TSH secretion. The improvement in patients' emotional state was more evident in depressed patients without associated panic attacks than in MDS with panic. These findings suggest that TRH has rapid positive effects on depression and that they depend more on patients' emotional state than on the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis.     

Factor structure and convergent validity of the Aggression Questionnaire in an offender population.

The study examined whether the 4-factor structure of the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ; A. H. Buss and M. Perry, see record 1993-00039-001), consisting of Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, Hostility, and Anger, would replicate in an offender population. The AQ and Novaco's Anger Scale (NAS; R. Novaco, 1994) were administered to 200 adult offenders. The results of a confirmatory analysis suggested that the 4-factor model is a poor fit in an offender population. A 2-factor model was suggested: 1 factor combines Physical Aggression and Anger; the other combines Verbal Aggression and Hostility. Evidence of convergent validity of the 2-factor model was provided by high correlations between the AQ and the NAS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Potential hostility and dimensions of anger.

Examined the construct validity of Potential for Hostility ratings derived from the Structured Interview by correlating PH scores with 21 scales from 4 anger/hostility measures: the Buss-Durkee Guilt-Hostility Inventory, Multidimensional Anger Inventory (J. M. Seigel, 1985), Anger Self Report, and R. W. Novaco's (1975) anger inventory. Ss were 82 male college students (mean age 20 yrs) and 50 male faculty, staff and older students (mean age 40 yrs). Factor analyses yielded 3 components (Experience of Anger, Expression of Anger, Suspicion-Guilt). PH was correlated with the Expression of Anger factor in a 2-factor solution and was equally correlated with the Expression of Anger and Experience of Anger factors in a 3-factor solution. Implications for assessment of hostility are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychometric properties of the State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA): Comparison to the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).

The State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA; M. J. Ree, C. MacLeod, D. French, & V. Locke, 2000) was designed to assess cognitive and somatic symptoms of anxiety as they pertain to one's mood in the moment (state) and in general (trait). This study extended the previous psychometric findings to a clinical sample and validated the STICSA against a well-published measure of anxiety, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; C. D. Spielberger, 1983). Patients (N=567) at an anxiety disorders clinic were administered a battery of questionnaires. The results of confirmatory factor analyses (Bentler-Bonnett nonnormed fit index, comparative fit index, and Bollen fit index>.90; root-mean-square error of approximation     

Hostility, relationship quality, and health among African American couples.

Objective: This study investigated the association between hostility and health and whether it is moderated by the quality of an individual's primary romantic relationship. Method: Longitudinal data were provided by 184 African Americans, including 166 women. Participants averaged 38 years old and were married or in long-term marriagelike relationships. Hostility and relationship quality were measured at the first assessment. Hostility was based on participants' responses to items tapping cynical attitudes about relationships. Relationship quality was based on trained observer ratings of videotaped couple interactions on behavioral scales reflecting warmth, support, and communication skills. At 2 assessments approximately 5 and 7 years later, participants provided health data. Health index scores were formed from responses to five scales of the SF-12 (Ware, Kosinski, & Keller, 1998) as well as to responses to questions about the number of chronic health conditions and the number of prescribed medications. Results: Stepwise regression analyses controlling for demographic variables and the earlier health score tested the main and interactive effects of hostility and relationship quality on longitudinal changes in health. Whereas no main effects were supported, the interaction of hostility and relationship quality was significant (p     

The relationship between socioeconomic status, hostility, and blood pressure reactions to mental stress in men: Data from the Whitehall II study.

This study investigated the relationship among blood pressure reactions to mental stress, cynical hostility, and socioeconomic status (SES) in 1,091 male public servants. Occupational grade served to index SES and cynical hostility was assessed using the Cook-Medley scale. (Cook & Medley, 1954). The magnitude of systolic, but not diastolic, blood pressure change scores to stress was positively associated with occupational grade: the higher the grade, the greater the reactions. Mental stress task performance also varied with occupational grade but was unrelated to reactivity. Ratings of task difficulty did not vary with occupational grade. Cynical hostility was negatively related to occupational grade, and, contrary to previous findings, negatively related to systolic blood pressure reactivity. Cynical hostility was also negatively related to mental stress task performance but unrelated to ratings of task difficulty. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)