THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERSONALITY-TRAITS AND PLASMA GASTRIN, CHOLECYSTOKININ, SOMATOSTATIN, INSULIN, AND OXYTOCIN LEVELS IN HEALTHY WOMEN

In earlier studies performed on a group of women with gastrointestinal symptoms, significant positive correlations between the gastrointesti nal hormone gastrin and anxiety, and a negative correlation with socia lization were obtained. These and other relationships were tested on 3 3 healthy women. A comprehensive and concise statistical model was use d for the analysis of correlations between, on one hand, the levels of oxytocin and the gastrointestinal hormones gastrin, cholecystokinin, somatostatin and insulin, and, on the other hand, personality traits. Almost all explained variance of the hormone levels could be referred to three personality trait factors, Anxiety, Aggressive non-conformity , and Detachment. The statistical explanation of the gastrin level var iance was most successful, the three personality trait factors explain ing 48% of this variance. Gastrin ''increased'' Anxiety while reducing Aggressive non-conformity and Detachment. A similar pattern for insul in was also reliable. Considering general trends, the negative correla tions between all hormones and Detachment are interesting. Present dat a suggest that there is a psychoendocrinological antithesis to the fig ht-flight individual, characterized by high activity in the sympathoad renal system: these contrasting persons, with high levels of the gastr ointestinal hormones gastrin and insulin, tend to be warm and caring a nd non-aggressive-but often not free from anxiety. We do not think tha t the demonstrated associations between hormone levels and personality traits implicate a direct causal relationship. They rather may mirror the activity of centrally acting or hypothalamic control systems whic h influence both behavioural and endocrine profiles.