Sex differences in self-reported coronary-prone factors

The FABA self-report questionnaire on coronary-prone behaviour was applied to 628 GDR subjects (343 males, 285 females), who included students, blue- and white-collar workers, and hypertensive patients, all split into three age groups (18–30, 31–50, and 51–65 years). Four scales had been previously established by factor analysis: Work Obsession (WO), Dominance/Competition (DC), Reactive Uncontrol (RU), and Need for Planning (PN). Two-tailed MANOVA and ANOVA were applied to analyse the effects of sex, age, and type of respondent (i.e. student, worker, or hypertensive) on scale means, using the defined sub-groups. No significant sex differences on WO and PN were found. With regard to DC, males of all sub-groups consistently rated themselves as more dominant and competitive than females. These differences were highly significant. RU was higher only in female students and female hypertensives. There was a significant age effect on DC and PN: the older the workers and hypertensives of both sexes, the more dominant and obsessed with planning they were. No influence of the type of respondent was apparent. Results are discussed in the light of cross-cultural research on gender differences and the particular socio-economic situation of the former GDR. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.