Using personality variables to predict cancer and heart disease

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of the scales from GrossarthMaticek in the prediction of cancer and coronary heart disease (CHD). Factor analyses, based on responses from a community sample of 5133 subjects between the ages of 40 and 65, showed that the scale measuring Type 1 (disposition for cancer) correlated highly with the scale measuring Type 2 (disposition for CHD) personalities. Both scales had high positive loadings on a factor which had positive markers of neuroticism and depression and negative markers of optimism, sense of coherence, and social support. In two separate case‐control studies, the Type 1, 2, and 4 (disposition for health) scales failed to successfully discriminate between groups of healthy individuals and those with a clinical diagnosis of cancer or CHD. Logistic regression analyses using data from the community sample showed that traditional risk factors such as gender, passive smoking, and neuroticism led to significant discrimination between healthy subjects and subjects with cancer or CHD. In contrast the scales from Grossarth-Maticek explained only a small part of the health versus illness variance and have little incremental validity over other traditional health-related personality constructs. & 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.