Preliminary Evidence for the Cross-Cultural Utility of the Type D Personality Construct in the Ukraine

BACKGROUND Type D personality is a risk indicator in cardiac patients. The validity and reliability of the Type D Scale (DS14) have been confirmed in Western Europe but not outside this context. PURPOSE We examined the structural, convergent, and divergent validity and the reliability of the DS14 in the Ukrainian setting. METHOD Healthy Ukrainian respondents (n = 250) completed the DS14, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. A subsample (n = 57) completed the DS14 again after 4 weeks. RESULTS The prevalence of Type D personality was 22.4%. The two-factor structure and the validity of the DS14 were confirmed. The DS14 subscales were internally consistent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.86/0.71; mean inter-item correlation = 0.48/0.27) and stable over a 4-week period (r = 0.85/0.63). Type D individuals had significantly higher mean scores on anxiety (p < 0.001), depressive symptoms (p < 0.001), and negative affect (p < 0.001), and lower scores on positive affect (p < 0.001) compared to non-Type D individuals. CONCLUSION Preliminary evidence suggests that the Ukrainian DS14 is a valid and reliable measure. Future studies are warranted to test the utility of the scale in cardiac patients in the Ukraine, including whether Type D also predicts adverse health outcomes beyond the boundaries of Western Europe.