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Type A behavior and stress in college males
1Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322.
Journal of Personality Assessment
|January 1, 1987
Summary
Type A personality traits are linked to cardiac issues, but stress levels are key. Self-preoccupation in Type A individuals amplifies stress, increasing cardiac risk, while Type B individuals are unaffected.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cardiology
- Behavioral Medicine
Background:
- Inconsistent findings exist regarding the link between Type A personality and cardiac pathology.
- Previous studies often overlooked the role of stress levels in Type A individuals.
- A stress-vulnerability model is proposed to explain the Type A-cardiac risk relationship.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the moderating role of self-preoccupation on stress in Type A college males.
- To test a stress-vulnerability model for young Type A students.
- To determine if personality moderators influence stress in Type A individuals.
Main Methods:
- Examined self-preoccupation as a potential stress moderator in Type A college males.
- Assessed stress levels reported by participants over the previous year.
- Compared stress experiences between self-preoccupied and less self-centered Type A individuals.
Main Results:
- Self-preoccupation significantly moderated stress levels in Type A males.
- Type A individuals high in self-preoccupation reported excessive stress.
- Self-preoccupation did not moderate stress levels in Type B individuals.
Conclusions:
- Self-preoccupation acts as a stress moderator, identifying Type A individuals at higher risk.
- Excessive and sustained stress, moderated by personality traits like self-preoccupation, is crucial for cardiac risk in Type A individuals.
- The findings support a stress-vulnerability model for understanding Type A behavior and cardiac pathology.