One hundred and fifty-five hospitalized asthma patients were administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) in order to evaluate the existence of common personality characteristics. When the full sample was divided into subgroups according to age, sex, and duration of the illness, it was found that patterns emerged that appeared largely explicable by these variables rather than the asthma per se. The single most frequent pattern observed across these subgroups was a V-shaped configuration of a "neurotic triad" (scales 1, 2, and 3). This pattern is not unique to asthma, but is also characteristic of other chronic illness populations and seems to represent a defensive stance in coping with the problems of chronic illness. The findings speak against any stereotypic asthmatic personality. It appears more profitable to investigate individual personality patterns associated with coping styles and their relationship to the illness via behaviors that either maintain or delimit the effects of chronic asthma.
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Jones et al. (1976) studied this question.
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