Hostile Attitudes and the Coronary Prone Personality

Comparisons were made between groups of coronary heart disease (CHD) patients, cancer patients and a disease‐free control group, to determine if hostile attitudes were a unique feature of CHD patients, and independent of the experience of serious illness. The relationship between frequency of hostile attitudes and Type A behaviour was also investigated. No differences in frequency of hostile attitudes were found between the CHD, cancer, or control groups; however both disease groups reported more depression than the control group. Type A subjects reported more hostile attitudes than Type B subjects, but not more depression. for all subjects, a significant association was found between hostile attitudes and depression. Results suggested that hostile attitudes may have a subordinate causative role in the development of CHD; they may contribute to coronary risk because of an association with more fundamental components of the coronary prone personality, including depression and Type A behaviour. 1991 Australian Psychological Society