Coping Styles, Opioid Blockade, and Cardiovascular Response to Stress

Authors

Stephen Bruehl, Vanderbilt UniversityFollow
James A. McCubbin, Clemson UniversityFollow
John F. Wilson, University of KentuckyFollow
Thomas B. Montgomery, University of South AlabamaFollow
Paloma Ibarra, University of Kentucky
Charles R. Carlson, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

We investigated the hypothesis that the effects of Monitoring and Blunting coping styles are mediated in part by endogenous opioids. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were measured in 39 males before, during, and after a mental arithmetic stressor. Each subject experienced the protocol once under opioid blockade (naltrexone) and once in a placebo condition, in counterbalanced order. Monitoring and Blunting were assessed using the Miller Behavioral Style Scale. High Blunting and high Monitoring were both associated with poorer MAP recovery under opioid blockade than in the placebo condition. Similar effects were noted for Blunting on the measure of HR. These results indicate that the coping styles of Monitoring and Blunting may be associated with enhanced opioid mediation of cardiovascular recovery from stress.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1994

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01856880

Repository Citation

Bruehl, Stephen; McCubbin, James A.; Wilson, John F.; Montgomery, Thomas B.; Ibarra, Paloma; and Carlson, Charles R., "Coping Styles, Opioid Blockade, and Cardiovascular Response to Stress" (1994). CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles. 169.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/crvaw_facpub/169