Hostility and Health

Abstract

Hostility has verified links to poor health outcomes with a particular impact on coronary artery disease and mortality due to all causes. Hostility is a global term encapsulating hostile interpretations of the actions of others, angry reactions to perceived slights, and aggressive tendencies. These emotional and behavioral characteristics are thought to be traits that form consistent patterns of interacting in the social environment. Persons judged to possess high levels of hostile tendencies tested in the laboratory have large cardiovascular and endocrine reactions to social provocations. These physiological reactions represent fight-orflight states accompanied by angry and aggressive responses toward other individuals. Similar reactions are seen in hostile persons going about their daily lives. Hostile persons are prone to acute episodes of extreme anger due to interpersonal conflict, and they may engage in unhealthy lifestyles including cigarette smoking. Persons high in trait hostility have increased rates of mortality, higher levels of myocardial infarction, and greater progression of atherosclerotic plaque. Understanding the nature of hostile reactions and their health consequences has led to the development of training programs that improve interpersonal coping skills helping the hostile person to reinterpret social situations and avoid toxic reactions, with potentially improved health outcomes.