[The correlation between blood pressure values and personality score in the FPI-R in a non-clinical sample]

Personality traits of persons with high blood pressure were examined again. However, in contrast to most studies, it was decided to employ non-clinical samples of hypertensives and controls who were homogeneous for age and gender and also for actual life-style. This was done with draftees in the frame of a blood donation when blood pressure was recorded by routine. In addition, subjects completed the Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI-R). Data of 390 persons were suitable for evaluation. Groups with different blood pressure levels did not differ significantly in any of the scales with the exception of higher emotionality scores in the high blood pressure group. This seems best explicable as a chance finding in the frame of multiple comparisons. Neither emotionality nor other personality traits showed any correlation with blood pressure values across the whole sample. Overweight, however, correlated repeatedly with the scale scores and should thus be taken into account in further personality research with hypertensives.