A multidimensional measurement model for cardiovascular reactivity: stability and cross-validation in two adult samples.

The factor structure for measures of stress-related cardiovascular reactivity was examined in 2 samples: a university campus employee sample (N = 72) and a sample of young adult twins (N = 113). In both samples, 5 noninvasive cardiovascular measures were monitored during a series of challenging laboratory tasks. We developed a 2-factor model depicting vascular and cardiac influences on responding. With confirmatory factor analysis, this model was shown to be consistent with the data across both samples, across 2 testing sessions, and across 2 sets of tasks. Latent variables measuring cardiac and vascular reactivity were highly reliable on retest as well. Individual differences in cardiovascular reactivity to mental stress may be characterized by a stable, 2-dimensional pattern of response.