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Reliability of cardiovascular reactivity to stress: Internal consistency
Author(s) -
Kelsey Robert M.,
Ornduff Sidney R.,
Alpert Bruce S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00499.x
Subject(s) - cronbach's alpha , reactivity (psychology) , reliability (semiconductor) , cold pressor test , psychology , consistency (knowledge bases) , internal consistency , session (web analytics) , blood pressure , video game , heart rate , developmental psychology , psychometrics , medicine , computer science , power (physics) , physics , alternative medicine , multimedia , pathology , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , world wide web
Research on the reliability of cardiovascular reactivity has focused on temporal stability and intertask consistency with only modest results. The present study evaluated the internal consistency reliability of cardiovascular reactivity in three large samples of adolescents and young adults ( N =326, 136, and 142). Impedance cardiographic and blood pressure measures were recorded at rest and during standard laboratory stress tasks (math, video game, cold pressor). The reliability of cardiovascular reactivity within tasks, as assessed by Cronbach's α coefficient of internal consistency, ranged from α=.83 to .96 for 4‐min to 5‐min math tasks, and α=.65 to .94 for 3‐min video game and cold pressor tasks. Although highly reliable within tasks, cardiovascular reactivity was less reliable across tasks, even within a single testing session. Possible reasons for the discrepancy between internal consistency and intertask consistency are discussed.