Romantic Relationship Satisfaction and Ambulatory Blood Pressure During Social Interactions: Specificity or Spillover Effects?

Abstract

Background: People in high-quality romantic relationships tend to have lower blood pressure (BP). People may experience lower BP specifically when interacting with romantic partners.

Purpose: This study parsed the effects of different types of social interactions on ambulatory BP (ABP) and tested whether romantic relationship satisfaction moderated these effects during interactions with partners in particular (specificity) or with others (spillover; e.g., friends, co-workers).

Methods: Partnered participants (N = 594) were drawn from a larger study on BP and cardiovascular health (age = 46.5 ± 9.3; 57.4% female). Participants reported on romantic relationship satisfaction and completed 24-hr ABP monitoring. At each reading, participants reported whether they had a social interaction and with whom. Multilevel models accounted for nesting of data over time.

Results: Romantic relationship satisfaction significantly modified the effects of some social interactions on systolic and diastolic BP (SBP, DBP). Participants with high (+1 SD) relationship satisfaction had significantly lower SBP (-0.77 mmHg, p = .02) during partner interactions compared with no social interaction; low-satisfaction (-1 SD) participants had a nonsignificant 0.59 mmHg increase (p = .14). A similar pattern emerged for DBP. Relationship satisfaction also modified SBP response during friend interactions (elevated SBP for low-satisfaction participants) and DBP response during "other" interactions (elevated DBP for high-satisfaction participants).

Conclusion: Participants with high levels of romantic relationship satisfaction experienced significantly lower BP during social interactions with their partner compared with situations without social interaction. Although there was some evidence for spillover to other types of relationships, effects were largely restricted to partner interactions.

Keywords: Ambulatory blood pressure; Blood pressure; Couples; Ecological momentary assessment; Relationship satisfaction; Social interaction.