Optimism and lower blood pressure.

Abstract

This investigation examined the relationship between hypertension and explanatory style in a sample of 106 women participating in a study evaluating a cognitive-behavioral intervention to lower blood pressure. This was the first study to utilize cognitive representations and attributional style as a means of understanding people's perceptions of the causes of hypertension and of the impact of their behaviors on their health. Findings suggest that women with an optimistic explanatory style benefited from greater reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure as a result of having participated in a cognitive-behavioral intervention devised to increase compliance with medical regimes for the treatment of hypertension, such as taking antihypertensive medications regularly, eating a healthy diet, and not smoking. Women with an optimistic explanatory style consistently engaged in these preventive and health maintenance behaviors. These findings suggest that the assessment of explanatory style may be key in ensuring the efficacy of interventions aimed at reducing the incidence and high prevalence of hypertension in the general population.