Types of aggressiveness and catecholamine response in essential hypertensives and healthy controls

Relationships between plasma catecholamine responses, and levels and types of aggression in hyper- and normotensives were investigated by analyses of data obtained in a large psychophysiological experiment on 97 hypertensives (EH) and 98 normotensives (CO) each. Subjects were divided according to levels (high vs low) and types (repressed vs manifest) of aggressiveness according to self rating questionnaire scores. Their plasma catecholamine responses to defined stressors indicating sympathetic arousability were compared by four factor analyses of covariance adjusting for age. Repressed aggression was significantly more frequent among male EH, whereas manifest aggression was significantly more frequent among the male COs. High as compared to low hostility was associated with significantly elevated values of plasma epinephrine in EH but not in CO. The immediate norepinephrine stress response was blunted but showed a delayed increase during the subsequent period of rest in high aggressives of both the EH and CO group, a pattern particularly pronounced in repressed aggressive hypertensives. Neither cardiovascular reactions nor speed of performance were observed to be substantially different in subjects of repressed and of manifest hostility. It was concluded that aggression in general is characterized by a delayed norepinephrine stress response and that an association with high epinephrine is typical for aggressiveness in hypertensives. Repressed hostility, however, does not produce a sympathomedullary pattern substantially different from that of manifest aggression thus casting doubt on the physiological significance of repression claimed by Alexander.