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Body Build, Personality and Neurosis in Women

Wales and Monmouthshire

ABSTRACT

1. The paper describes investigation into the association between body build, personality and neurosis in a group of 400 service women neurosis patients. Body build is assessed by a new index consisting of a regression equation of four measurements derived from factorial analysis. Items relating to personality, symptomatology and mental status were recorded independently.
   
2. The group was divided by means of the new body-build index into Leptomorphs, Mesomorphs, Eurymorphs, and the distribution of psychological traits determined for each group and the significance of differences tested statistically.
   
3. Eurymorphs were found to be associated with hysterical traits and symptoms, whereas leptomorphs tended to be associated with dysthymic traits and symptoms (anxiety and depressive states).
   
4. Eurymorphs were found to be associated with extraversion and cyclothymic tendencies and leptomorphs tended to introversion and schizothymic tendencies, thus lending some support to Kretschmer's theory of a relationship between body build and personality.
   
5. Leptomorphs have a higher incidence of signs and symptoms of autonomic dysfunction than eurymorphs.
   
6. The findings conform to the results of a similar study in adult male neurotics and with those of a study of normal children at Harvard. It is stressed that the correlation between physique and its psychological correlates is too small for clinical use in diagnosis or prognosis. The results provide further evidence of complex relationships between body build, personality and mental disorder.