Prevalence of Type E multiple-role stress in Professional Women and Impact of Social Support in affecting general Health

SynopsisThis paper gives empirical treatment to the new theoretical Type E construct proposed by Brailcer (1986) as an explanation for multiple role stress, by 1) documenting the prevalence of Type E behaviour in career women 2) investigating the validity of the concept in relation to the Type A behaviour pattern 3) examining the relationship of type E stress to illness symptoms and 4) studying any stress-buffering effects of social support. Women (N = 166) from the professions of nursing, teaching, business and management, medicine, accountancy, psychology and other helping professions answered a questionnaire relating to type E behaviours and cognitions, social supports available to them and prevalence of psychophysiological illness symptoms. All women were involved in multiple roles relating to work, marriage/partnership and childrearing. Support was found for the type E construct being independent of the Type A construct, the only overlap occuring for the speed-impatience component of Type A. Type E personality was strongly related to illness symptoms, the cognitive aspect of the syndrome being an even better predictor of symptoms than type E behaviours. No stress-buffering effects of social support were found, though esteem support was found to have a beneficial effect on health independent of type E stress. Implications of the present findings for the family and helping professions are discussed.