Affective personality as cognitive-emotional presymptom profiles regulatory for self-reported health predispositions

Three studies that examined the links between affective personality, as constructed from responses to the Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) Scale (PANAS), and individuals’ self-report of self- esteem, intrinsic motivation and Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) depression in high school students and persons in working occupations are described. Self- report estimations of several other neuropsychiatric and psychosocial variables including, the Uppsala Sleep Inventory (USI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) test, Dispositional optimism, Locus of control, the Subjective Stress Experience test (SSE) and the Stress- Energy (SE) test, were also derived. Marked effects due to affective personality type upon somatic and psychological stress, anxiety and depression, self- esteem, internal and external locus of control, optimism, stress and energy, intrinsic motivation, external regulation, identitified regulation, major sleep problems, problems falling asleep, and psychophysiological problems were observed; levels of self- esteem, self-motivation and BDI-depression all produced substantial effects on health and well-being. Regression analyses indicatedPA was predicted by dispositional optimism (thrice), energy (thrice), and intrinsic motivation, and counterpredicted by depression (twice) and stress (twice); and NA by anxiety (twice), stress (twice), psychological stress, identified regulation, BDI depression and psychophysiological problems, and counterpredicted by internal locus of control and self-esteem.BDI- depression was predicted by negative affect, major sleep problems and psychophysiological problems (Study III),self-esteem by dispositional optimism and energy, and counterpredicted by anxiety, depression and stress (Study I), andintrinsic motivation by dispositional optimism, energy, PA and self- esteem (Study II). These convergent findings are interpreted from a perspective of the cognitive- emotional expressions underlying behavioural or presymptomatic profiles presenting predispositions for health or illhealth.