While the benefits of social support for physiological health are well established, the underlying pathways by which support can influence cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) are still being elucidated. In the present study, we adapted an attachment framework to further explore the support-CVR link. Specifically, we experimentally tested the effect of attachment and social support on CVR by manipulating the provision of invisible support from a stranger, across individuals with secure, anxious and avoidant attachment styles. Employing a 3 × 2 design, a sample of young adults (N = 138) from across each of the three attachment styles were randomly assigned to either an invisible support (from a stranger), or no support, condition. All participants were subject to an acute standardised stress testing protocol where cardiovascular indices were monitored throughout. Results from a factorial ANOVA showed no significant interaction between support and attachment on any cardiovascular reactivity parameter (SBP, DBP, HR) or any main effect of attachment or support. These findings suggest that, in this case, social support was not effective in buffering the effects of stress across various attachment styles. The benefits of incorporating a developmental perspective to the study of social support and health are discussed.

虽然社会支持对生理健康的好处已经确立，但支持影响心血管反应性 (CVR) 的潜在途径仍在阐明。在本研究中，我们调整了附件框架以进一步探索支持-CVR 链接。具体来说，我们通过操纵陌生人提供的无形支持，在具有安全、焦虑和回避依恋风格的个体之间，通过实验测试了依恋和社会支持对 CVR 的影响。采用 3 × 2 设计，年轻成人样本 ( N = 138) 来自三种依恋类型中的每一种，随机分配到隐形支持（来自陌生人）或无支持条件。所有参与者都接受了一项急性标准化压力测试方案，在该方案中全程监测心血管指数。阶乘方差分析的结果表明，支持和依恋之间对任何心血管反应性参数（SBP、DBP、HR）或依恋或支持的任何主要影响都没有显着的相互作用。这些发现表明，在这种情况下，社会支持不能有效缓冲各种依恋风格的压力影响。讨论了将发展观点纳入社会支持和健康研究的好处。