JOB COMPLEXITY, TYPE A BEHAVIOR, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDER: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Interview-based measures of type A behavior and psychological and task-person indexes of job complexity were obtained from 251 police and fire department employees with sound cardiovascular health. Fol- low-up data on cardiovascular disorder were collected seven years later from participants who had remained with their organizations. The type A behavior pattern predicted cardiovascular disorder over time, and the relationships between the two complexity indexes and cardio- vascular morbidity were positive among individuals with high type A behavior ratings but negative among those with low ratings. We discuss the implications of these findings for worker health and job design

The moderating effect of personality differences on job stress: A longitudinal investigation

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the interaction of personality differences and work stressors upon the emotional and physical well-being of individuals over time. The theoretical foundation for this study is that offered by Hans Eysenck (1970). According to Eysenck (1970), neurotic introverts exhibit higher levels of arousal than stable extraverts under conditions of high stress. Employing a prospective design over a seven year period, 181 police officers, firefighters and white collar workers completed questionnaires which measured demographic, psychological, and physical status. Independent variables were occupational complexity (objective measure), control, role ambiguity, role conflict, skill utilization, quantitative workload and variance in workload. Moderator variables were neuroticism and introversion-extraversion. Dependent variables included job satisfaction, mental health, somatic complaints and physical health. The demographic variables included age, education level, number of position changes, number of employer changes, number of years in present position, supervisory responsibilities and number of employees supervised. After controlling for prior health levels, four significant three-way interactions were found between introversion-extraversion and neuroticism and quantitative workload, variance in workload, complexity and control predicting physical health and somatic complaints. However, the interaction for complexity was not in the predicted direction. The three-way interactions for skill utilization, role conflict and role ambiguity were not significant. Significant two-way interactions were found for neuroticism and role ambiguity predicting physical health and introversion-extraversion and quantitative workload predicting physical health. Main effects included role ambiguity, role conflict, utilization of skills and control predicting job satisfaction as well as role conflict and ambiguity predicting somatic complaints and physical health difficulties. It was concluded that further exploration into the arousal hypothesis seems to be warranted. The findings support the consideration of individual differences in the implementation of stress management programs

JOB COMPLEXITY, TYPE A BEHAVIOR, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDER: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Interview-based measures of type A behavior and psychological and task-person indexes of job complexity were obtained from 251 police and fire department employees with sound cardiovascular health. Fol- low-up data on cardiovascular disorder were collected seven years later from participants who had remained with their organizations. The type A behavior pattern predicted cardiovascular disorder over time, and the relationships between the two complexity indexes and cardio- vascular morbidity were positive among individuals with high type A behavior ratings but negative among those with low ratings. We discuss the implications of these findings for worker health and job design