Hostility and Mental Health ¹²⁹¹

The article provides the analysis of theoretical approaches and empirical research aimed at investigation of the role of hostility in aetio-pathogenesis of psychosomatic as well as mental diseases. The character of interrelations between quantitative (general level of hostility) and qualitative aspects of hostility, its structural components (affective, cognitive and behavioral) with objective parameters of a mental disorder (duration and nosologic unit). It is shown that hostility is a trait of mental disorders not specific for certain nosologic units that does not depend on a patient’s age and duration of disease. Qualitative and quantitative peculiarities of hostile attitudes in population with mental disorders compared to normal population are displayed. Individuals’ increased hostility is regarded as a psychological marker of their personal vulnerability in stressor situations. Concurrently it is shown that comprehensive investigation of hostility and its correlations with different diseases will improve the efficiency of psychotherapeutic, psychocorrectional and preventive psychologist’s activities on mental health preservation.

Keywords: hostility, mental disorders, mental health, biopsychosocial model of aetiopathogenesis, predictors, general level of hostility, structure of hostility.

Column: Methodological Problems of Legal Psychology