Motivation patterns, self-esteem, and depression of patients after first myocardial infarction.

This study explored the relationship between dominance-achievement motivation and psychological adjustment of 53 patients after their first myocardial infarction. These two motivations are perceived as expressions of general tendency to "agency," or assertiveness. The following findings were observed: (1) High-agency subjects reported less depressive moods than low-agency subjects; there was no time effect on this difference between groups nor within each group separately. (2) the self-esteem of high-agency patients was high and stable, whereas that of low-agency subjects was lower and got lower with time. It may be concluded that patients with a high-agency level might be more efficiently equipped to cope with stressful events.