Irritability and physical symptoms in a three‐generation study of Mexican Americans

The association between physical symptom reporting and scores on the irritability subscale on the Buss‐Durkee Hostility Inventory was analyzed in a three‐generation sample of Mexican americans. Moderate associations were found between symptom‐reporting and irritability after controlling for alcohol consumption, smoking, marital status, age, income, education, and depressed affect. The strength of these associations varied by generation and gender. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that irritability may be associated with illness symptomatology. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.