Relationships among type A behavior pattern, job stress and life style

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among type A behavior pattern, job stress (defined by Karasek's D-C-S model) and life style, based on the hypothesis that the person with type A behavior pattern has an increased risk of mental and physical illness when they are under high job strain. Six hundred and forty nine employees (442 men and 207 women) from 2 worksites answered 'Job Content Questionnaire', 'Maeda Type A Behavior Checklist', and questionnaires to answer the distorted life style (lack of exercise, alcohol abuse, smoking habit, and abnormal eating pattern). The relationship between job stress and type A behavior pattern was examined by t test and ANOVA. The causal model including demographic variables was tested by path analysis. Favorably, type A behavior score was positively related to activity level, but on the contrary, the score was also positively related to the level of job strain. Both the level of activity and job strain positively correlated with the distortion in life style. They also, however, correlated with the degree of desirable change in life style such as increased amount of exercise. Thus, high activity level and high job strain may both be regarded as stressors, and may bring about desirable coping behavior at the same time. On the other hand, social support seemed to reduce job strain and increase the activity level. It was also indicated that social support from the supervisor differentially affected above factors as compared to the support from coworkers.