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Neuroticism, symptom reports, and type A behavior: interpretive cautions for the Framingham Scale
T W Smith1, J L O'Keeffe, K D Allred
1Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112.
Journal of Behavioral Medicine
|February 1, 1989
Summary
The Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS) may inaccurately link Type A behavior to health issues due to its correlation with neuroticism. This suggests neuroticism, not Type A behavior, might explain reported symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Medicine
- Health Psychology
Background:
- The Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS) is a key measure for Type A behavior.
- Unlike the Structured Interview (SI) and Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), FTAS correlates with neuroticism.
- Neuroticism and FTAS scores predict angina-like chest pain but not definitive coronary heart disease (CHD).
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the associations between the SI, JAS, and FTAS with neuroticism and symptom reporting.
- To investigate whether FTAS is susceptible to the neuroticism-symptom reporting confound.
Main Methods:
- Two independent samples of undergraduate males were utilized.
- Associations between personality measures (SI, JAS, FTAS) and self-reported symptoms were analyzed.
- The role of neuroticism as a potential confounder was specifically examined.
Main Results:
- The FTAS, unlike the SI and JAS, showed significant correlations with neuroticism and symptom reporting.
- Shared variance with neuroticism accounted for the observed correlations between FTAS scores and symptoms.
- This indicates a potential confounding effect of neuroticism on FTAS-symptom relationships.
Conclusions:
- The FTAS may be uniquely susceptible to confounding by neuroticism in assessing Type A behavior.
- Findings suggest an alternative interpretation for some results in the Framingham Study.
- Neuroticism should be considered when studying the relationship between personality traits and health outcomes.