Abstract
Finding a link between stable personality traits and heart rate variability may help reduce the risk of clients developing cardiovascular disease. This study investigated two personality traits: adult attachment and Type D personality. Participants (N = 95; 80% female) completed questionnaires to assess demographic characteristics, adult attachment (ECR-R; Fraley, Waller, and Brennan, 2000), and Type D personality (DS14; Denollet, 2000). Participants also completed a physiological assessment to calculate heart rate variability. Type D Personality was examined as both a continuous and categorical variable. Results revealed a significant relationship between Type D personality as a continuous variable with attachment avoidance (r = .305, p = .003) and attachment anxiety (r = .378, p = .000). Analyses found a strong trend nearing significance ( p = .056) indicating that Type D personality moderated the relationship between attachment avoidance and heart rate variability following a cognitive activity (R2 = .089, F(5, 85) = 1.657, p = .154; R2 = .040, F(1, 85) = 3.758, p = .056). Gender was also found to be predictive of heart rate variability following a cognitive stressor (R2 = .103, F(2, 89) = 5.126, p < .01; ΔR 2 = .091, F(1, 89) = 9.081, p = .003). Type D personality alone was not found to be predictive of heart rate variability. Findings indicate that Type D as a continuous variable may provide more power than Type D as a categorical variable. Future research should continue to investigate the utility of Type D personality as a continuous variable.