This report presents the design and initial findings of an attempt to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in healthy men by modifying their type A behavior pattern. A group of 27 professional and executive volunteers, aged 39--59, who had been medically assessed as free from coronary heart disease, were randomly assigned to brief psychotherapy and behavior therapy groups. Each treatment group met for 14 sessions over a period of 5 months. Pre- and postmeasures of physiological (serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, blood pressure) and psychological (anxiety, psychological symptoms, satisfaction) variables were taken. Results indicate that both treatment groups changed in the desired direction on most of the psychological and physiological variables without apparent change in habits of diet, exercise, smoking, or work load. The findings are provocative, but only tentative, leaving questions of clinical validity, durability, and generalizability unresolved. Nevertheless, they indicate that this approach to modifying type A behavior may reduce coronary risk and therefore warrants further exploration.
To test the reliability and durability of positive treatment effects obtained in a type A intervention project for healthy managers, the analysis was extended to data available from a third treatment group (a special behavior therapy group for participants eliminated from the main sample because of manifestations of clinical CHD) and to measures obtained 6 months following the end of treatment. Immediately after treatment all three groups showed a similar pattern of improvement, although the two behavior therapy groups did show a greater decrease in serum cholesterol levels. Six months after treatment the sample as a whole showed good maintenance of treatment effects, but the differences between groups had become somewhat sharper, with the special behavior therapy group faring best, the regular behavior therapy group intermediate, and the psychotherapy group worst. The logical consistency of these findings increases our confidence in the initial treatment results, as well as permitting cautious optimism concerning the possibility of developing effective intervention programs for coronary-type (type A) behavior.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with đź’™ for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.