T Lymphocyte Polyclonal Proliferation and Stress Response Style

18 subjects were measured on cell-mediated immunity (T lymphocyte polyclonal proliferation) and four behavioral indices including over-all life stress, stress-avoidance tendency, stress-intrusion tendency, and tendency toward cardiovascular Type A behavior. Of Pearson correlations computed between T lymphocyte polyclonal proliferation and each of the four behavioral indices, the only significant value was that, .47, between T cell immunity and tendency toward stress avoidance. Of the variables investigated, the best predictor of T cell immunocompetence is the tendency toward avoiding stress. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research.