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Type D personality. A potential risk factor refined
1Department of Clinical Health Psychology, Tilburg University, Netherlands. j.denollet@kub.nl
Journal of Psychosomatic Research
|December 20, 2000
Summary
A distressed personality type (Type D), characterized by negative affectivity and social inhibition, is linked to increased cardiac events and psychosocial risk factors in coronary heart disease patients. This personality subtype can be reliably assessed in hypertension patients.
Area of Science:
- Psychology and Cardiology
- Behavioral Medicine
Background:
- Psychological distress is linked to coronary heart disease (CHD).
- The determinants of distress as a coronary risk factor are not well understood.
- Negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI) are personality traits potentially explaining distress in CHD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review research on NA and SI in CHD patients.
- To present new findings on NA and SI in hypertension patients.
- To explore the role of personality traits in cardiac risk.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of NA and SI in CHD.
- Assessment of NA and SI in 734 hypertension patients.
- Replication of findings across genders and languages.
Main Results:
- High NA and high SI define a "distressed" personality type (Type D) associated with increased cardiac events and psychosocial risk factors.
- Type D personality traits (dysphoria/tension, reticence/withdrawal) are reliably assessed in hypertension.
- Type D hypertensives reported greater depressive affect compared to non-Type D individuals.
Conclusions:
- A personality-based approach is crucial for identifying patients at risk for cardiac events.
- Negative affectivity and social inhibition are significant personality traits for CHD.
- These traits may also be relevant for other chronic medical conditions.