Ninety men between the ages of 20 to 65 were studied to investigate th
e relationships between stress, depression and psychogenic pain. Three
groups (the coronary heart disease (CHD) group; the left-sided psycho
genic chest pain (LPCP) group; and the control group) comprising 30 pa
tients per group, each completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale
(SRRS), as a measure of stress; the Schedule of Recent Experience, to
document the recency of actual life events experienced as listed in th
e SRRS; and the Beck Depression Inventory, as a measure of the severit
y of depression. Separate analyses of the variables stress and depress
ion failed to yield significant stress differences in the 3 groups, bu
t the LPCP group was significantly more depressed than the CHD and con
trol groups. Factor analysis, however, indicated that the stress profi
les were significantly different in each of the 3 groups. This study i
ndicates that the condition of LPCP shares a similar depressive profil
e to other psychogenic pain conditions and further lends support to th
e hypothesis linking psychogenic pain to depressive disorders.