The Effects of Masculinity and Social Support on Recovery from Myocardial Infarction

Ninety post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients were interviewed to assess masculinity/femininity and social support shortly before hospital discharge. Patients were contacted 1 year following MI to obtain information about rehospitalization and/or death, post-MI chest pain, and perceived health. After controlling for traditional coronary risk factors, MI severity, and psychological distress, lack of disclosure to one's spouse predicted worse recovery on all three indices. Exploratory analyses revealed that males (n = 63) who disclosed to their spouses were rehospitalized less often than females (n = 14) who disclosed to their spouses, and married patients who engaged in less spouse disclosure (n = 32) were significantly more likely to be rehospitalized than either unmarried patients (n = 14) or married patients who engaged in more spouse disclosure (n = 41). Masculinity predicted more severe post-MI chest pain but was unrelated to rehospitalization and perceived health.