Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between personality and behavioral responses in patients with acute myocardial infarction. In a first step, a new instrument (PSY Inventory) for assessment of six behavioral characteristics (Sense of Responsibility, Energy and Competitiveness, Obsessive Behavior, Anger and Hostility, Stress-related Disturbances, Time Urgency) was developed by using factor analysis on intercorrelations of responses from 524 subjects of the general population. Internal consistency reliability for each of the PSY subscales was estimated by Cronbach alpha coefficients. In a second step, the PSY Inventory was administered with the Cattell 16 PF Questionnaire to 838 patients affected by acute myocardial infarction. Significant correlations although relatively low in magnitude for PSY Inventory subscales and certain scales of the Cattell 16 PF were found. With factor analysis on 22 variables (including the six PSY Inventory subscales and the 16 scales of the Cattell 16 PF), five second-order factors were identified, namely, Extraversion, Neurotic Anxiety, Superego Strength, Pathemia, and Neurotic Hostility. While a Pathemia Factor (characterized by sensitivity, imagination, and self-sufficiency) was factorially independent of scales of the PSY Inventory, Extraversion, Neurotic Anxiety, Superego Strength, and Neurotic Hostility Factors were composed of the PSY Inventory scales and Cattell 16 PF scales combined. These relationships would reflect the concordance of internal constructs for behavioral measures of the PSY Inventory and those of personality traits of the 16 PF Questionnaire in patients with acute myocardial infarction.