Relationships between women's affect expressions, marital satisfaction, and cardiovascular reactivity were investigated. Twenty-four healthy women and their spouses completed the Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI). Women's cardiovascular reactivity was monitored during a 10-minute videotaped husband-wife conflict discussion that later was rated for affect expressions. Regression analysis showed that active negative affect accounted for 20% of the variability in systolic blood pressure. Neither positive affects nor MSI Global Marital Distress was related to women's cardiovascular responses. For women, 53% of the variance in MSI Global Marital Distress was accounted for by total negative affect, but for men affects and marital distress were unrelated. Further research is warranted on the associations between marital distress, affect expression, and cardiovascular reactivity that may lead to physical and mental health problems.
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