The Type A behaviour pattern as a precursor to stressful life‐events: A confluence of coronary risks

Abstract

Both the Type A Behaviour Pattern (TABP) and the presence of stressful life-events have been independently established as precursors to the onset of coronary heart disease (CHD). The thematic character of the TABP suggests, however, that the two phenomena might be linked, to the extent that features of the TABP may place an individual in social, occupational and personal circumstances which enhance the probability of encountering stressful life-events. Evidence from survivors of clinical CHD gives some support to this idea. The present study extends the hypothesis to a large sample of healthy males, screened for CHD risk factors. These results, too, support the idea that the TABP and encounters with stressful life-events are not entirely independent phenomena. Associations between the TABP and a range of measures of life-events were most evident in the occupational aspects of the latter, though not exclusively so. The data do point to the need, in future epidemiological studies of CHD risk, to treat the TABP and stressful life-events as related measures of CHD risk.

Work‐load, perceived control and psychological distress in Type A/B industrial workers

“…They strive to obtain the most from the environment in the shortest possible time (Matthews and Haynes, 1986). Their lifestyle exposes them to a wide range of self-initiated stressful life-events (Byrne and Rosenman, 1986). They set extremely high performance goals (Matthews, 1982) and work on multiple projects at once (Lee, Earley and Hanson, 1988).…”

Type A behavior pattern and coronary heart disease: The hostility factor?

“…The underlying basis for this type A competitiveness may be a deepseated, covert anxiety that is associated with insecurity and fear of failure, and different from neuroticism in the latter's usual construct. [27][28][29][30][31] Relationship to CHD TABP was related to CHD prevalence in several studies,16 and then found prospectively associated with significantly higher incidence of initial CHD during an 8.5-year follow-up in the Western Collaborative Group Study (WCGS).' This relationshi but not in some later ~tudies.…”

Adolescent Type A Characteristics and Socially Problematic Behaviors1

“…A social psychological perspective would also be valuable as social situa-tions can elicit o r exacerbate subjective and physiological stress reactions in Type A individuals, and thus compromise health (Bruch, McCann, & Harvey, 1991;Byrne & Rosenman, 1986;Smith, 1992;Smith & Anderson, 1986). Research on, for example, the situations Type A individuals choose to enter (Margolis, McLeroy, Runyan, & Kaplan, 1983;Smith & Anderson, 1986), the types of emotions they are likely to experience (Suls & Wan, 1989), and the nature of their marital relations (Sanders, Smith, & Alexander, 1991;Sullaway & Morell, 1990) can shed light on how naturalistic situations influence health.…”