Type A Behavior, Perceived Stress, and Illness

Fifty-one university administrators (categorized as Type A or Type B by the Jenkins Activity Survey) completed a series of questionnaires that assessed their degree of perceived job stress, extent of recent life changes, physical health, and psychological well-being. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that work stress and life change interacted with the Type A behavior pattern in predicting symptomatology. Type A administrators under high stress reported more psychological impairment and cardiovascular-related health problems than high stress Type Bs or low stress As and Bs. The results attest to the importance of situational factors when studying Type As and lend support to a diathesis-stress model of Type A and heart disease.