Psychosomatic Medicine 34:39-44 (1972)
© 1972 American Psychosomatic Society

Denial as a Determinant of Anxiety and Perceived Health Status in the Coronary Care Unit

¹ Departments of Psychiatry (Division of Psychosomatic Medicine), Nursing and Medicine (Division of Cardiovascular Research), Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.

Address for reprint requests: W. Doyle Gentry, PhD, P.O. Box 3264, Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27706.

Investigation involved a quantitative assessment of situational (A-State) and chronic (A-Trait) anxiety, depression and perceived health status in 16 patients admitted to the coronary care unit with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Half of the patients were classified as deniers and half as nondeniers, based on their complaints of fear and apprehension during the CCU experience. Psychologic tests of anxiety and depression and selfratings of current and general health status were obtained over the first 5 days after admission to the unit. Results indicated that: (a) deniers experienced less situational anxiety across days than did nondeniers, (b) only nondeniers showed a decrease in situational anxiety as a function of time on the unit, (c) only nondeniers tended to perceive a discrepancy between perceived current and general health status on admission to the CCU (Day 1), and (d) estimated level of current health was lower than that of general health on Day 5, with only nondeniers manifesting improvement in perceived current health relative to Day 1. No differences were noted either between deniers and nondeniers or across days for chronic anxiety or depression.

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