Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol 43, Issue 1 35-43, Copyright © 1981 by American Psychosomatic Society

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

The relationship between dependency and the development of cancer

RP Greenberg and PJ Dattore

Theoretical speculations have raised the possibility that oral-dependent traits may predispose certain individuals to cancer. Alternatively, some have suggested that such traits are more broadly predictive of an array of illnesses. This study sought to test whether dependency characteristics predispose men to illness in general or cancer in particular whether such characteristics have no particular effect on the development of illness. Comparisons were made of the premorbid MMPI records of 58 V.A. male domiciliary residents who later developed cancer with the records of 104 residents who either remained disease free or developed one of three other conditions (benign tumors, hypertension, or gastrointestinal ulcers). Scores on eight scales, demonstrated to measure dependency related characteristics, were derived for all subjects. Results showed that four dependency measures predicted the later occurrence of illness. However, none of the measures specifically differentiated cancer from the other illness conditions or the no-disease group. Thus, while findings suggest that dependency may predispose men toward illness, no support was found for a specific link between dependency and cancer.