Question

14. Define health behavior and explain how such behaviors are related to illness. 15. Describe the concept of Type A behavior and how it is measured. What does research show concerning the relationship between Type A and cardiovascular disease?

Answer 1

Define health behavior and explain how such behaviors are related to illness.

Anything an individual does to "feel" healthy in the immediate present and foreseeable future, is my understanding of health behavior. The purpose could be to prevent any problems due to health, maintain current level of health and get to a better level of health.

To the extent that a person indulges in health behaviors to prevent illness, it is related to illness. Health behavior is more than just dealing with absence of disease. It comprises the ability of the individual to function optimally. An illness prevents an individual to function to his optimum capacity. So, behaviors that help an individual do what he wishes to with his abilities, with a cooperating body-mind complex is health behavior.

Type A behavior

Type A behavior refers to driven individuals who are highly focused, organized, highly competitive bordering on aggression and ambitious without too many scruples. They are hard working too and quite emotionally reactive.

how it is measured

SI or Structured Interview and Jenkins Activity survey are the popular assessments to diagnose type A personality.

The Structured Interview was a collobaorative effort developed in late 60’s and The Jenkins survey is a 61 item questionnaire. Recently there have been more such tests online with questionable reliability and validity. The SI has the interviewer measures both emotional verbal and nonverbal responses. The JAS is a self report that measures competitiveness, job involvement and speed and impatience.

What does research show concerning the relationship between Type A and cardiovascular disease?

There are controversies in this regard. While there are a good number of studies showing a correlation, there are an equal number refuting it.

The popular longitudinal study conducted by Friedman and Rosenman in 1976 concluded that more than half of the participants who showed type A traits developed coronary heart disease. Subsequently another longitudinal study whose results were published in 1988, showed that the deathrate was lower in type A compared to type B.

Critics of the approach say that people can’t be strictly demarcated as type A or type B and their personalities show overlapping traits.