Effects of Negative Emotions, Social Inhibition and Role of Gender Factor on Development of Coronary Heart Disease

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Abstract

: Many studies showed that negative emotions and social inhibition have a positive association with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). We designed this study to assess if there is any correlation between development of CHD and experience of anxiety, depression, anger, hostility and social inhibition and their interaction with gender factor. Eighty CHD patients were consecutively selected (40 males and 40 Females) to be compared with 80 random healthy persons (40 males and 40 females) upon their experience of negative emotions and social inhibition. We used "NEO Personality Inventory and General Health Questionnaire about demographic properties" to collect needed information about previously mentioned variables in each group.
The results showed that the rate of experienced negative emotions and their inhibition in social interactions have a significant difference between CHD patients and normal group. We found that the anger and the hostility are risk factors for CHD development in both males and females, but they play this role in different ways; as direct expression of anger and its intensity is a risk factor for males, while its suppression is a risk factor for females. Comparing the males with the females within the CHD group, showed that there is a positive relationship between depression and occurrence of coronary heart disease in women, but sex makes no significant difference in CHD incidence associated with experienced anxiety.

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Journal of Psychological Studies
Volume 4, Issue 1
April 2008
Pages 71-86

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