THE GROSSARTH-MATICEK AND EYSENCK PERSONALITY-TYPES, HEALTH-RELATED BEHAVIOR, AND INDICATORS OF TRANSITORY ILL-HEALTH

The aim of this study was to scrutinize the relationship between perso nality type as described by Grossarth-Maticek and Eysenck, health-rela ted behaviours, and indicators of transitory ill health in a community sample. The sample consisted of all persons aged 40 years (45 men and 35 women) in a Swedish municipality who agreed to take part in a heal th examination at the primary health care centre of the municipality. The Short Interpersonal Reactions Inventory (Grossarth-Maticek and Eys enck, 1990) was used to measure personality type. Self-report data wer e obtained regarding seven health-related behaviours. Health was asses sed in three ways; self-report (paper and pencil), self-report (interv iew response to physician), and measures of 36 biological variables in cluding immune system indicators. The allocation of persons to the dif ferent personality types proved problematic using the established meth ods. By combining the types, according to Eysenck's personality model, and performing a cluster analysis on this combination, a 'healthy' an d a 'stressed' profile were identified within bo th the male and the f emale group of subjects. Persons in the healthy personality cluster sh owed more favourable scores on the health-related behaviour indices an d on the self-report health scales than the persons in the stressed cl uster. They also tended to score lower than those in the stressed clus ter on most of the biological markers known to increase during acute s tress. The possibility that this implies a higher level of strain for the persons in the stressed cluster on various bodily systems is discu ssed.