Defensiveness, trait anxiety, and Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen antibody titers in healthy college students.
The relationship of individual differences in repressive coping styles with differences in antibody titer to Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen (EBV-VCA) were investigated in a normal, healthy college population made up of people previously exposed to EBV. Each of 54 1st-year undergraduates completed a battery of physical-status questions and items pertaining to potential behavioral immunomodulatory confounds, along with the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (T-MAS) and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS). Ss reporting high and middle levels of anxiety had higher antibody titers to EBV, suggesting poorer immune control over the latent virus, as compared with the low-anxious group. Similarly, high-defensive Ss had higher antibody titers than their low-defensive counterparts, and neither group differed from the middle group.
Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33124.
B A
BA
Esterling
M H
MH
Antoni
M
M
Kumar
N
N
Schneiderman
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011598:Psychoneuroimmunology; D012094:Repression, Psychology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; C041788:Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen