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Situational And Dispositional Influences On Cardiovascular Reactivity To Daily Academic Stressors, Kristen Marie Conley

WWU Graduate School Collection

Stress has many physical effects on the body, including producing elevations in heart rate and blood pressure. This study investigated associations between daily academic stressors and cardiovascular activity. Because individual differences may influence physical reactions to academic stressors, differences in threat/challenge appraisal, test anxiety, and behavioral inhibition were considered as potential moderators of the relationship between academic stressors and cardiovascular activity. Forty-five undergraduate student participants (10 men, 35 women, M age = 20.58) wore an ambulatory blood pressure monitor for four consecutive days, and completed a series of individual difference assessments. Acute and anticipatory academic stressors were associated with cardiovascular …