title: Type D personality is related to cardiovascular and neuroendocrine reactivity to acute stress.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, BC, Canada. mhabra@interchange.ubc.ca
authors.forename: Martine E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Habra
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Linden
authors.forename: Jeremy C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weinberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012737:Sex Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone