Higher levels of hostility, assessed by a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scale (Ho), have been associated with the incidence of coronary disease and mortality from coronary disease and other causes in two prospective studies. In this study we examined the relationship between hostility and health status 25 years later in 478 physicians who completed the MMPI at the time of their medical-school admission interview. In contrast to earlier studies, higher Ho scores were not predictive of coronary disease incidence or total mortality. The implications of this finding for current research on the hostility component of the Type A behavior pattern are discussed.

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Interest in dissociation has been renewed, and its relationship to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder is especially intriguing. In this study 57 consecutively admitted chronic, combat-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder sufferers were grouped by scores on a dissociative scale (Dissociative Experiences Scale). The three groups (high, medium, and low) were compared on personality measures (MMPI basic scales and subscales, and Millon's MCMI), Posttraumatic Stress Disorder measures, and a psychophysiological index of heart rate under baseline trauma conditions. The results showed that the survivors with more dissociative experiences show distinctive and higher symptom levels--excessive fearfulness, symptoms of strange experiences, and high tonic psychophysiological states--as well as greater severity of ratings of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (on the Mississippi Scale). The discussion addressed the possible role of dissociation in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

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Utilizing a prospective design, this study addressed the question of whether vulnerability to burnout among physicians is associated with certain longstanding, maladaptive personality tendencies that predate entrance into medical training and subsequent exposure to the intrinsic stresses of medical practice. Subjects were 440 practicing physicians whose personality traits and psychological adjustment had been assessed with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) shortly before entering medical school who were followed up by mail questionnaire an average of 25 years later to evaluate current symptoms of burnout with the Tedium scale. Results revealed that higher burnout scores were significantly correlated with a number of standard and special MMPI scales measuring low self-esteem, feelings of inadequacy, dysphoria and obsessive worry, passivity, social anxiety, and withdrawal from others. In contrast, burnout scores exhibited no significant associations with demographic or practice characteristics, including sex, age, medical specialty, practice arrangement, hours worked per week, or percentage of work time spent in direct contact with patients. Alternative interpretations of these findings and their potential implications for reducing the risk of burnout among physicians are discussed.