Taking rejection to heart: Associations between blood pressure and sensitivity to social pain

Abstract

A reliable finding from the physical pain literature is that individuals with higher resting (i.e., tonic) blood pressure experience relatively less pain in response to nociceptive stimuli. Converging lines of evidence suggest that biological factors that influence the experience of physical pain may also relate to social pain. An open question, however, is whether higher blood pressure per se is a biological factor associated with lower sensitivity to social pain. This possible association was tested in three studies. Consistent with prior findings on physical pain, higher resting blood pressure was associated with lower self-reported sensitivity to social pain across individuals (Study 1 r = -.303, Study 2 r = -.262, -.246), even after adjusting for confounding factors related to blood pressure (Study 3 r = -.222). Findings suggest a previously unknown biological correlate of sensitivity to social pain, providing further evidence for possible shared substrates for physical and social pain.

Keywords: Acute pain; Interoception; Social disconnection; Social rejection; Tonic blood pressure.

Figure 1

Negative correlation between resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and sensitivity to social pain from Study 1. Higher SBP was marginally associated with lower self-reported sensitivity to social pain (N = 39, r = −.303, p = .060, 95% CI [−.541, −.064]). Lower numbers on self-reported sensitivity to social pain (Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale) represent less sensitivity to social pain.

Figure 2

Association between resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and sensitivity to social pain (as measured by Mehrabian’s Sensitivity to Rejection scale) from Study 2. Higher SBP was associated with lower self-reported sensitivity to social pain (n = 114, r = −.246, p = .008, 95% CI [−.449, −.012]). Lower numbers on sensitivity to social pain represent less sensitivity to social pain.

Figure 3

Association between resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) and sensitivity to social pain from Study 3. Replicating Study 1 and Study 2, resting SBP was negatively correlated with self-reported sensitivity to social pain, such that higher resting SBP was associated with less sensitivity to social pain, as measured by self-reports to Mehrabian’s Sensitivity to Rejection scale (n = 162, r = −.222, p = .005, 95% CI [−.365, −.069]).