Relationship between JAS- and FTAS-Type A behavior and non-CHD illness: A prospective study controlling for negative affectivity.

Abstract

In addition to posing a risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), Type A behavior has been suggested as a risk factor for non-CHD illness. Past evidence, however, has relied chiefly on retrospective studies of self-reported illness that failed to control for the potentially confounding effects of negative affectivity. The present investigation was an 18-month prospective study of Type A behavior and medical records of illness in which chronic negative affectivity was also assessed. Negative affectivity was associated with retrospective self-reported illness, but only Type A, as measured by the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS), predicted medical records of subsequent illness severity and number of illness-related medical visits. Controlling for negative affectivity did not reduce these significant relationships. It was concluded that persons scoring high on the JAS or the FTAS may be a greater risk of minor illness when objective measures of illness are assessed over a period of 1 year or more. Alternative explanations and future directions for research are discussed.

Type a behavior pattern in mothers of infants: An exploration of associations with attachment, sensitive caregiving, and life-events

“…This finding is in line with previous contentions that Type A behavior patterns are also predictive of other diseases than CAD (Siegel, 1984). In their prospective study, Suls and Marco (1990) showed that Type B3 college students had fewer and less serious illness across a period of 18 months than their Type A counterparts. Lastly, in the present study the construct validity of the SI in mothers was illustrated by the strong positive associations between the SI scales for Insecurity, Hostility, and Time-Urgency, and the three Type A classifications.…”

“…With Type A students, reported life events seen as undesirable, unexpected, and ambiguous in terms of perceived control were positively and significantly correlated with increased distress. Moreover, in two different studies using same-aged male and female subjects with similar prevalence rates of Type A behavior pattern it was positively associated with social insecurity (Suls,Becker and Mullen,198 I), and, prospectively, with non-cardiac illness symptoms, after controlling for negative affect (Suls and Marco, 1990).…”

Psychosocial predictors of health status

“…This suggests that any research using a health complaint scale as its criterion for health or psychological indicator and measures of any kind of subjective stress should attempt to control for the nuisance variable of negative affectivity in some manner. Recent related findings by Skitka (1990) and Suls and Marco (1990) suggest that perceived work stress and an overall stressful lifestyle (measured by the JAS and FTAS Type A scales) explained both subjective and objective health measures, even after controlling for negative affectivity. Together, these studies suggest that self-reported stress measures may still be valid, albeit weak, predictors of health status.…”

Mood States and Type A Behavior in Japanese Male Patients with Myocardial Infarction

“…Although the TAB was regarded as a psychological risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD) [ 1 ], many studies generally have not found TAB to be associated with increased risk for CHD (i.e., Western Collaborative Group Study, WCGS) [2], One component of TAB, hostility (and/or anger) has received most atten tion [3,4], Although in these countries hostility and anger have been regarded as a major component, in Japanese populations job involvement (e.g. job-centered lifestyle) has been thought to be a more important factor in TAB than hostility and anger [5][6][7][8].…”