Behavioral Factors and Blood Pressure in Adolescence: The Tacoma Study

The relationship between behavioral factors and blood pressure was examined in an adolescent population (n = 213). The behavioral variables included stressful life events, school anxieties, self-concept, life satisfaction, anger, the Type A behavior pattern, and scores on six scales of a standard personality inventory. Blood pressure was measured during a field screening, which served as the basis for study eligibility, and three times during a physical exam that was part of the present study. Adolescents who had elevated blood pressures in the field were compared with normotensive adolescents and found to differ on personality scales of persistence and hard working. Adolescents who had elevated blood pressures in the field and in the study differed from their normotensive counterparts in terms of life dissatisfaction, impatience, the Type A behavior pattern, anger, and hostility, although the association with the latter three variables was mediated by weight. Anxiety and life events were not associated with elevations in blood pressure.