INHIBITED POWER MOTIVATION AND HIGH BLOOD-PRESSURE IN MEN

Examined the suppressed anger hypothesis, as related to the origins of essential hypertension, by using need for power (n Power) relative to need for affiliation (n Affiliation) as the measure of the disposition to be assertive or angry and by using activity inhibition as the measure of the tendency toward self-control. In 3 samples (127 German men, 235 male college freshmen, and 78 male college juniors) higher n Power than n Affiliation and high activity inhibition--the inhibited power motive syndrome--were associated with higher blood pressures than other motive combinations. In a longitudinal study it was found that the inhibited power motive syndrome, as measured in male Ss in their early 30s, significantly predicted elevated blood pressures and signs of hypertensive pathology appearing 20 yrs later. The personality predisposition predicted later elevated diastolic blood pressures, even when the possible contribution of an earlier physiological predisposition was controlled by a multiple regression analysis. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.