Physiology & Behavior, Vol.53, pp. 449-457, 1993 0031-9384/93 $6.00 + .00 Printed in the USA. Copyright© 1993 PergamonPressLtd. Negative Affect, Absorption, and Immunity JOHN D. C. SHEA, *l ROBERT BURTONt AND AFAF GIRGISt *Psychology Department, University of Newcastle, NSW Australia and i-Medical Faculty, University of Newcastle, N S W Australia Received 18 July 1991 SHEA, J. D. C., R. BURTON AND A. GIRGIS. Negativeaffect, absorption, and immunity. PHYSIOL BEHAV 53(3) 449-457, 1993.--Relationships between the psychological characteristics absorption and neuroticism, and in vitro and in vivo measures of cell-mediated immunity were examined. Thirty-nine female subjects responded to questionnaires, donated blood for analysis of T-cell numbers, and were tested for delayed hypersensitivity skin responses. Consistent with the experimental hypothesis, subjects classified as repressors of negative affect (low absorption/low neuroticism), or extreme expressors of negative affect (high absorption/high neuroticism), showed lower immune responses than other groups of subjects. For the in vitro T-cell measures and the in vivo skin induration measures, there were also pervasive main effectsof neuroticism, with subjects higher in neuroticism showing higher immunity than subjects lower in neuroticism. Personality and immunity Psychoimmunology Behavioral immunology Negative affect and immunity NA and immunity Psychosocial factors and immunity THE idea that some individuals and not others may be prone to immune suppression has received considerable attention over recent years (39,42). A common proposition is that some people, through learning or biology, are more emotionally reactive than others, as a result of which prolonged nervous arousal and fatigue occurs (14,27). It has been proposed that such patterns of response are associated with health problems including immune deficits. Such people are said to score high on trait measures of negative affect (NA) such as neuroticism, anxiety, or emotionality measures. NA has been causally re- lated to a variety of minor (headaches, nausea, ache) and ma- jor (ulcers, coronary heart disease, arthritis, asthma, diabetes) health problems (2,3,10,13,21,22,34). Power motivation, a concept apparently related to NA, has been consistently as- sociated with higher levels of trait anxiety and depression, and with decreased concentrations of S-IgA (poorer immunity is assumed) during exams. A greater amount of self-reported illness, particularly of upper respiratory tract infections, has also frequently been noted within these studies [for reviews, see (22,29)]. Relatively enduring mood changes, decreases in trait NA, with concomitant reductions in physical symptoms and health clinic visits as well as apparent improvements in immunity measures, seem apparent in intervention studies using relaxation therapy (16,25,37). Thus, people high in negative affect should show immune deficits, with or without the immediate presence of external stressors. However, relationships between trait NA and immunity have rarely been investigated, and available data often contradict the hypothesis of a negative relationship, finding no relationship with trait NA (26) or negative effects (3,40). A major criticism of research in this area concerns the observation that emotionally reactive people tend to report greater levels of symptomatic dis- tress but do not always show changes in behavioral indicators such as absenteeism, doctors' visits, extent of current disability, general fitness and lifestyle variables, biological markers such as blood pressure, serum risk factors, immune system functioning, or objective evidence of dysfunction such as mortality rates (8,46). If anything, people low in NA may be more subject to cardiac problems (46), and may be more likely to develop cancer and to have lower survival rates once it is diagnosed [e.g., (9,19,44)]. A recent study (38) examined relationships between measures of trait and state NA and life changes, and a variety of cell-mediated immune responses in a small group of medical students facing acute examination stress. The findings tended to contradict the idea that high NA is associated with relatively depressed immunity. Low scorers on state and trait measures often had poor immune responses. One popular explanation for such effects utilises the concept of repression, and the idea that high NA scorers reduce the effects of stressors on themselves through the expression of negative emotion, but that repression may actually exacerbate it's effects [e.g., (6,11,32,45)]. This viewpoint allows for the possibility also that the group next most seriously affected by external stressors involves individuals who are high in NA, since their emotional responsiveness indicates relatively poor coping with the stressors (17). Giving support to the first of these theories are studies in which significant immunological and long-term health im- provements have been noted to occur subsequent to therapies which reduced emotional inhibition and enhanced self-disclosure or feelings of emotional control [e.g., (17,18,24,28,33)]. , Requests for reprints should be addressed to John D. Shea, PhD., Psychology Department, University of Newcastle, Shortland, NSW 2308, Australia. 449