How hardiness and the quality of life relate to the parameters of autonomic balance

Abstract

The purpose of the research was to evaluate the prognostic significance of the two tests most often used by psychologists for describing of the subject's quality of life: the Short Form-36 Health Status Survey (SF-36) and the Hardiness Test (Maddi, 1998). As an indicator of the state of internal control, the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) was chosen. Our study sample consisted of 59 students and office workers (mean age of 25.1 ± 11.0 years). The study was conducted in two successive stages. During each of the stages, the heart rate was recorded, the slow and the fast waves on the cardiogram were assessed. During the first stage, the R-R intervals were recorded with the subject in a state of quiet wakefulness; during the second, while the subject's health was being discussed. A second recording was done for further elaboration (once again while the test subject was in the process of describing the state of their health). The only correlation between a person's own description and the actual inner state arises when they are describing their real responsibilities and how they carry them out.