Development of a brief self-report measure of the type A (coronary prone) behavior pattern

This study reports the development of a brief self-report measure of the Type A behavior pattern based upon a set of adjectives derived from the Gough Adjective Checklist (ACL). Previous work from our laboratory established a set of adjectives identified by experts as being relevant to the Type A construct that subsequently was found to successfully distinguish Type A individuals from their Type B counterparts. In the present study, a Type A self-rating scale based on these adjectives was found to be significantly related to an established Type A self-report instrument, the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), and to an independent behavioral rating based upon a standard structured interview (SI). However, no measure of Type A was related to the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) as documented by coronary angiography. The advantages and disadvantages of the various Type A measures are discussed in the context of their ability to identify individuals at risk for the development of CAD.