Preliminary Evidence for the Cross-Cultural Utility of the Type D Personality Construct in the Ukraine

BACKGROUND: Type D personality is a risk indicator in cardiac patients. The validity and reliability of the Type D Scale (DS14) have been confirmed in Western Europe but not outside this context. PURPOSE: We examined the structural, convergent, and divergent validity and the reliability of the DS14 in the Ukrainian setting. METHOD: Healthy Ukrainian respondents (n = 250) completed the DS14, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. A subsample (n = 57) completed the DS14 again after 4 weeks. RESULTS: The prevalence of Type D personality was 22.4%. The two-factor structure and the validity of the DS14 were confirmed. The DS14 subscales were internally consistent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86/0.71; mean inter-item correlation = 0.48/0.27) and stable over a 4-week period (r = 0.85/0.63). Type D individuals had significantly higher mean scores on anxiety (p < 0.001), depressive symptoms (p < 0.001), and negative affect (p < 0.001), and lower scores on positive affect (p < 0.001) compared to non-Type D individuals. CONCLUSION: Preliminary evidence suggests that the Ukrainian DS14 is a valid and reliable measure. Future studies are warranted to test the utility of the scale in cardiac patients in the Ukraine, including whether Type D also predicts adverse health outcomes beyond the boundaries of Western Europe.