تیپ شخصیتی D به واکنش های قلبی عروقی و اعصاب و غدد به استرس حاد مربوط است

Objective: The relationship between Type D personality (the joint tendency towards negative affectivity [NA] and social inhibition [SI]) and laboratory indices of cardiovascular health was examined. Method: 173 undergraduates (86 male) completed a stress protocol involving a mental arithmetic task with harassment. Blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and salivary cortisol were measured both prior to and during the task. Results: The relationships between personality and both resting and reactivity levels were examined. Results indicated that socially inhibited men demonstrated heightened blood pressure reactivity. NA was related to dampened HR change during the stress task in men. Correlational analyses indicated that both Type D dimensions were associated with greater cortisol reactivity to stress; however, results no longer remained significant in more stringent regression analyses. Conclusion: Findings are consistent with the noted relationship between Type D and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and suggest a possible pathway to disease via an association with physiological hyperreactivity.

Identified biological and lifestyle risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and hypertension, such as smoking, obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes [1], account for a small portion of the variance in the development of such diseases. Thus, behaviorally minded researchers have been examining the impact of psychological factors such as personality and perceived social support on the disease process. Recently, a new personality construct has been proposed to be related to CVD outcome, and consistent associations with morbidity and mortality have been noted. The Type D or “distressed” personality construct was developed by Denollet in his investigation of coping styles in men with coronary heart disease. Empirically identified through cluster analysis, Type D individuals score highly on the negative affectivity (NA) and social inhibition (SI) personality dimensions [2]. NA is defined as the “tendency to experience negative emotions,” including anger, hostile feelings, depressed affect, and anxiety (Ref. [3], p. 209). SI, on the other hand, is defined as “the avoidance of potential dangers involved in social interaction such as disapproval or nonreward by others” (Ref. [3], p. 209). Thus, the “distressed” personality subtype is characterized by the joint tendency to experience negative emotions and to inhibit these emotions while avoiding social contact with others.