Personality, cancer and coronary heart disease: Further evidence on a controversial issue

Controversy surrounds the contention that certain psychological factors correlate highly with cancer and coronary heart disease (CHD). This study provides further empirical evidence on this issue. Special consideration is given to Grossarth‐Maticek's theory of personality types, according to which Type 1 personalities are more susceptible to cancer and Type 2 personalities to CHD. A total of 1858 participants of both sexes between the ages of 39 and 68 responded to a battery of personality scales including our own R(evised)‐Scales. Designed to measure the Grossarth‐Maticek's personality types, these R‐Scales proved to be internally highly consistent, but R‐Scales 1 and 2 were intercorrelated at the level of their reliability. Factor analyses indicated that Grossarth‐Maticek's predictors of illness do not measure any unique constructs, i.e. constructs not also tapped by other personality scales included in the test battery. Participants suffering from cancer or from CHD differed in personality from healthy participants, but not in the direction predicted. These results suggest that the claimed discriminant validity of the Grossarth‐Maticek illness predictors is highly improbable.