Religious and Spiritual Coping Mediates the Association between Trait Extraversion and Cardiovascular Reactivity to Acute Psychological Stress.

Abstract

The current study aimed to test (1) the association between trait extraversion and cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress, (2) the association between trait extraversion and religious/spiritual coping, and (3) whether the association between trait extraversion and cardiovascular reactivity to acute stress was mediated via greater religious and spiritual coping. A sample of 139 participants completed a cardiovascular reactivity protocol consisting of a resting baseline and stressor phase (serial subtraction task), with systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure and heart rate (HR) monitored throughout. Participants also completed self-reported measures assessing trait extraversion, as well as religious and spiritual coping. While no direct association between extraversion and cardiovascular reactivity was observed, individuals who reported a greater tendency to engage in religious and spiritual coping exhibited significantly lower SBP, DBP and MAP reactivity to the acute stressor. Additionally, religious and spiritual coping mediated the association between trait extraversion and cardiovascular reactivity. We observed that high trait extraversion was associated with greater religious and spiritual coping, which in turn was associated with lower blood pressure reactivity. These findings are potentially important because they elucidate a biopsychosocial process linking personality, religious experience, and cardiovascular health.