Personality Factors in Cardiovascular Disease: The Big Five and Type D Personality

Abstract

Increasing evidence supports the role of personality traits in the progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Big Five personality traits, particularly neuroticism and low agreeableness, have shown to be predictors of adverse health outcomes in various populations, including patients with CVD. Similarly, Type D - the distressed - personality, which represents the tendency to experience a broad range of negative emotions (negative affectivity) and to inhibit selfexpression in social interaction (social inhibition), is associated with adverse outcomes, including impaired quality of life and poor prognosis in patients with CVD. In the present chapter, research findings on the Big Five personality traits and Type D personality as potential vulnerability factors for adverse health outcomes across different manifestations of CVD will be described. Furthermore, plausible physiological and behavioral mechanisms underlying these relationships will be presented and potentially beneficial interventions tailored to personality factors discussed.