Married With Children: The Influence of Parental Status and Gender on Ambulatory Blood Pressure
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Married With Children: The Influence of Parental Status and Gender on Ambulatory Blood Pressure Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D. & Wendy Birmingham, M.S. & Adam M. Howard, B.S. & Dustin Thoman, Ph.D.
Published online: 14 January 2010 # The Society of Behavioral Medicine 2010
Abstract Background Although there is substantial evidence that social relationships and marriage may influence both psychological and physical health, little is known about the influence of children. Purpose This study examined the competing predictions regarding the directional influence of parental status and its interaction with gender—given that mothers are typically disproportionately more responsible for everyday care of children—on cardiovascular functioning. Method We examined ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) over 24 hours among 198 married males and females. Results Couples without children had significantly higher ambulatory SBP and DBP than those with children. Moreover, we found a significant interaction between parental status and gender that suggested women with children showed the lowest ABP, whereas women without children displayed the highest ABP. Conclusion These findings suggest that parenthood, and especially motherhood, may be cardioprotective. J. Holt-Lunstad (*) Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, 1024 Spencer W. Kimball Tower, Provo, UT 84020, USA e-mail: [email protected] W. Birmingham Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA A. M. Howard School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA D. Thoman Department of Psychology, California State University, Long Beach, CA, USA
Keywords Ambulatory blood pressure . Parental status . Marriage . Children . Stress . Cardiovascular
Introduction First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage. Although this may or may not be the ideal for many adults, or come in this order (or at all), most of us are familiar with this cultural norm. Psychologists have a rich history of research examining love and social relationships, with a growing body of research examining marriage; however, we know very little about the addition of “the baby in the baby carriage.” For many adults, marriage and children play a significant role in their social lives. While there is a substantial literature documenting the association between social relationships and health [1], and even a significant body of literature devoted specifically to the marital relationship [2], whether or not children influence the physical health of parents is unclear. There is, however, reason to believe that children would be influential, but it is unclear from current evidence whether the effect would be positive or negative. Parenting is certainly associated with very polarized images. There are images of snuggling babies, playing at the park, and the more general emotional joy and satisfaction that are associated with children. On the other hand, there are images of frustration (e.g., tantrums, whining, cryin
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