Type A behavior within families: parents and older adolescent children

Type A behavior has been associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease and occupational stress. However, researchers know very little about the etiology of the Type A behavior pattern (TABP). Relating measures of TABP in the young to comparable measures from their parents and other family members is one way to address the etiological issue. This study is the first in a series which examines the relationship between parent and child TABP using multiple measures for assessing TABP and the same measures in children and their parents. One hundred thirty-eight undergraduate students at the University of Vermont and their parents completed three Type A and two anger measures. The results suggest a cross-gender pattern in which Type A in fathers is related to Type A in their daughters and Type A in mothers is related to Type A in their sons. Anger measures generally agree with this pattern. Methodological difficulties in the field and future directions for research are discussed.