The "Disease-Prone Personality": A Meta-Analytic View of the Construct

This article examines the notion that personality plays a causal role in the development of disease. In particular, this article develops the heuristic strategy of simultaneously comparing several emotional aspects of personality and several diseases, with close attention to the strength of the links between personality and disease. The published literature on personality correlates of five diseases with so-called "psychosomatic" components-asthma, arthritis, ulcers, headaches, and coronary heart disease-is reviewed and discussed, with a focus on construct validity. The statistical technique of meta-analysis is used to provide an easily viewed comparative summary. The results point to the probable existence of a generic "disease-prone" personality that involves depression, anger/hostility, anxiety, and possibly other aspects of personality. However, except in the case of coronary heart disease, the evidence is weak. Nevertheless, there is sufficient evidence to argue for a key role for psychological research on the prevention and treatment of disease. Specific directions for future research are described.