Relationship between Behavioral Inhibition and Activation Systems and Personality Dimensions with Coronary Heart Disease

The relationship between psychological factors and heart disease is one of the subjects that are being investigated in health psychology. In this regard the following research was designed to investigate the relationship among brain/ behavioral systems and personality dimensions with coronary heart disease. It may enhance our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms behind these factors. In this study, two groups of subjects (62 coronary heart disease patients and 62 healthy controls) were compared with one another based on their scores in Eysenck’s personality questionnaire and Corver and Whit’s BIS/BAS questionnaire. Data were analyzed using correlation coefficient and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). There was a positive relation between BAS and extroversion and a negative relation between BAS and neuroticism (P<0/01). Also there was a positive significant relation between BIS and neuroticism and negative relation between that and extroversion. There was no significant relation between BIS/BAS and pesychoticism. Findings showed that the CHD patients differed from healthy controls in the level of neuroticism and extroversion (P<0/01). And there was significant relation between CHD patients and healthy controls in BIS/BAS systems (P<0/01). According to the results of the research, sexuality has not significant relation with BIS/BAS subscales and personality dimensions. The results showed that the psychological factors have a significant relation with CHD.