Agonistic Interpersonal Striving: Social-Cognitive Mechanism of Cardiovascular Risk in Youth?

The social competence model (SCM) of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk identifies combinations of goal-oriented strivings, expressive behaviors, and social skill deficits that contribute to persisting interpersonal difficulties and chronic health-damaging stress in youth. SCM hypotheses were tested on 187 Black and White adolescents who completed the Social Competence Interview (SCI) and later underwent ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring. Cluster analyses of stress narratives assessed via SCI identified 3 predicted stress profiles: agonistic (interpersonally focused), transcendent (self-development focused), and avoidant. Group comparisons using social, hemodynamic, and ABP data supported the SCM hypothesis that youths who exhibit the agonistic striving profile display diminished social competence, negative social impact, and heightened cardiovascular responding during a stress interview, and elevated ABP during normal social interactions, thus suggesting higher risk of CVD.