Emotional reactivity and debilitating beliefs during hospitalization predict future adjustment to first myocardial infarction in men

Research efforts are being made to identify personality and cognitive varia bles predictive of poor adjustment following myocardial infarction, Sixty-t wo male patients were examined after a first and uncomplicated myocardial i nfarction to determine whether dispositional emotional reactivity and debil itating beliefs measured during hospitalization can predict work engagement , social activities involvement, and ambulation/independence six months lat er, A structural model with direct paths between emotional reactivity, debi litating beliefs, and the above outcomes, as well as partial mediation of e motional distress and illness preoccupation, was tested using the CALIS pro cedure. The model explained 33%, 48% and 82% of the variance in the three o utcomes, respectively, Work engagement was indirectly related through emoti onal distress to earlier emotional reactivity and debilitating beliefs, Soc ial activities involvement was both directly and indirectly related through emotional distress to debilitating beliefs; and also indirectly related th rough emotional distress to emotional reactivity, Ambulation/independence w as directly and negatively related to debilitating beliefs, Prolonged emoti onal distress was predicted by emotional reactivity and debilitating belief s, Illness preoccupation turned out to be an independent outcome that was p ositively related to emotional reactivity, Thus, measuring dispositional em otional reactivity and debilitating beliefs at the hospitalization stage ma y be helpful in detecting patients at risk of poor future adjustment.