Power Motivation, Stress and Physical Illness

Abstract

College students reporting a large number of life change events in the past six months also reported significantly more frequent and more severe instances of physical illness and more affective symptoms in the same time period. These relationships, however, were modified in an interesting way by type of life change and by individual differences. Life change events were classified as involving power, affiliative or other stresses. Individuals scoring high in the need for Power (n Power), in inhibition, and in the number of power stresses (HHH subjects), reported more severe physical illness and affective symptoms than all other subjects or, in particular, subjects low in n Power, power stress and inhibition (LLL subjects). Individuals scoring high in Power and high in either inhibition or power stress also reported significantly more severe physical illness than other subjects. Among subjects high in inhibition, affiliative stress in combination with high n Power was associated with more severe physical illness, but, among subjects low in inhibition, affiliative stress in combination with high n Affiliation was associated with more physical illness. Affiliative stress was unrelated to affective symptoms. Other stress was unrelated either alone or in combination with other variable to physical illness or affective symptoms. The findings are interpreted as consistent with the hypothesis that subjects in the HHH category compared with other subjects are characterized by chronically high sympathetic activity which has immunosuppressive effects, making them more illness prone.