The Contributing Role of Negative Affectivity and Experiential Avoidance to Increased Cardiovascular Risk

Depression and anxiety are independent risk factors for the onset of cardiovascular disease, independent of classical risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, or hypertension. The present paper argues that the tendency to avoid difficult thoughts and feelings helps explain this relationship. There is a strong positive relationship between experiential avoidance and negative affectivity. Experiential avoidance is also related to several health behaviors recognized for increasing cardiovascular risk and may help functionally explain why individuals engage in problematic behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, and binge eating. Treatments that undermine experiential avoidance could be useful psychosocial approaches to cardiovascular risk reduction.     

Race and ethnicity in the genome era: the complexity of the constructs

The vast amount of biological information that is now available through the completion of the Human Genome Project presents opportunities and challenges. The genomic era has the potential to advance an understanding of human genetic variation and its role in human health and disease. A challenge for genomics research is to understand the relationships between genomics, race, and ethnicity and the implications of uncovering these relationships. Robust and scholarly discourse on the concept of race and ethnicity in genomic research should be expanded to include social and behavioral scientists. Interdisciplinary research teams are needed in which psychologists, as well as other social and behavioral scientists, work collaboratively with geneticists and other natural scientists.