The assessment of type a behavior and the prediction of coronary heart disease: A review

The literature regarding the Type A behavior pattern and its association with the incidence of coronary disease has been accumulating for over 20 years. For any researcher contemplating the investigation of this syndrome and its pathological implications, a daunting and time-consuming task is presented in deciding which Type A measurement technique to use to identify Type A individuals. This article is designed to aid this process by presenting a review of all the prospectively validated Type A measures that have been shown to be predictive of coronary disease. Each measure is described, its development is outlined, and its advantages, disadvantages, and limitations are highlighted. This work was supported by a grant from the Health Education Council, London, under the supervision of Professor J.R. Eiser at the Department of Psychology, University of Exeter.