The type C personality pattern, characterized by the inhibition of negative emotions and the presence of depressive features, has been associated with the evolution of cancer once this disease has appeared.

However, the most recent research on the relationship between personality and cancer has undermined the credibility of this hypothesis.

Personality patterns A, B, C and D

In 1959 cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman described the type A personality pattern , characterized by its role as a risk factor in the development of cardiovascular disorders. The distinctive features of this personality style include anxiety, ambition, rigidity, impatience, competitiveness and hostility.

Later on, the concept of “type B personality pattern” also began to be used to describe individuals with a lesser tendency to get involved in stressful situations. People with this personality are usually reflective and creative , they try to enjoy their life to a greater extent than those of type A and are not always achievement-oriented.

To these two personality patterns were also added type C and type D. Type C personality, which we will discuss in depth below, includes as defining features emotional repression and hopelessness, and has been attributed a certain predictive capacity in the evolution of cancer, although not in its appearance.

Finally we find the type D personality pattern, which was described by Denollet et al. (1996) and would worsen the evolution of heart problems. The letter “D” comes from the word “distressed”. It is defined as a combination of the tendency to social inhibition and to feel negative emotions, such as sadness, irritability and worry.

Type C personality characteristics

The descriptions that have been made of the Type C personality pattern vary depending on the research or specific literature. In general we can highlight five main personality traits: emotional control, emotional repression, understanding, rationality and the need for harmony. Each description highlights one or other factors.

The key point of this personality style is the inhibition or repression of negative emotions; we refer to sadness, fear and especially anger. In addition, a marked absence of dominance and hostility behaviors and a tendency to stoic acceptance of negative life events are detected.

People who fit the type C pattern often have difficulty coping with stress situations , especially in a direct and active way. This trait causes psychological reactions of a depressive type, such as expectations of helplessness or hopelessness regarding the future.

It follows that the type C personality pattern leads to the affected person not coping sufficiently with the disease and the negative emotions resulting from it, which could seriously interfere with treatment.

The characteristics attributed to the type C personality pattern bring it closer to other similar constructs. Types 1 and 5 of the classification of stress reactions developed by Eysenck and Grossarth-Maticek (1990) deserve special mention , both associated with an increased risk of cancer, according to these authors.

Scientific evidence

Although research has confirmed the predictive ability of the Type A personality pattern with respect to cardiovascular disease, the same cannot be said of the Type C pattern. Even in its origin this was an attempt to apply Friedman and Rosenman’s hypothesis to medical disorders other than those of the circulatory system.

In the 1990s this construct was accepted in a preliminary way by many members of the scientific community, but soon the lack of consistency in the findings regarding its predictive capacity in cancer began to become evident. Among other aspects, the irregularity in the definition of the C personality pattern makes it difficult to compare between studies.

It is currently believed that the supposed association between emotional inhibition and the development or evolution of cancer, if it exists, would be mediated by certain poorly adaptive coping styles or by other intermediary variables, and would in no way be specific to this disease.

The prospective macro-study by Nakaya et al. (2003), like many other investigations, disproves the idea that personality traits associated with neuroticism have a causal role in cancer. Furthermore, it is suggested that the relationship found by other authors between this disease and anxiety may have an inverse causality to the one studied.

Bibliographic references:

  • Blatný, M. & Adam, Z. (2008). Type C personality (cancer personality): current view and implications for future research. Vnitr̆ní lékar̆ství, 54(6): 638-45.
  • Cardona Serna, E. J., Jaramillo, A. C. & Díaz Facio Lince, V. E. (2013). Relationship between type C personality and cancer: State of the art. Psycho-spaces: Virtual Journal of Social and Human Sciences, 7(10): 66-92.
  • Denollet, J., Sys, S. U., Stroobant, N., Rombouts, H., Gillebert, T. C., & Brutsaert, D. L. (February 1996). Personality as independent predictor of long-term mortality in patients with coronary heart disease. Lancet, 347(8999): 417-21.
  • Friedman, M. & Rosenman, R. (1959). Association of specific overt behaviour pattern with blood and cardiovascular findings. Journal of the American Medical Association, 169: 1286-1296.
  • Grossarth-Maticek, R. & Eysenck, H. J. (1990). Personality stress and disease: Description and validation of a new inventory. Psychological Reports, 66: 355-73.
  • Nakaya, N., Tsubono, Y., Hosokawa, T., Nishino, Y., Ohkubo, T., Hozawa, A., Shibuya, D., Fukudo, S., Fukao, A., Tsuji, I. & Hisamichi, S. (2003). Personality and the risk of cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 95(11): 799-805.