Psychological characteristics of hypertensive and ulcer patients.

Hypertensive and duodenal ulcer patients were compared with physically ill patients at admission and discharge on personality traits and states of anxiety and depression. Both the hypertensive and ulcer patients were less dominant and more anxious than the control group at admission, while depression differentiated only the hypertensive group. The hypertensive patients were more depressed and more anxious than the ulcer patients at admission. At discharge, both experimental groups remained less dominant than the control group and the hypertensives remained more anxious and more depressed than the ulcer and control groups. Low dominance was correlated with high blood pressure and high extrapunitiveness was correlated with E.C.G. abnormality in the hypertensive patients. The results are discussed with respect to the role of aggression and low dominance in these 'psychosomatic' disorders.