Measurement assessment of the type A coronary prone behavior pattern and hyperactivity/problem behaviors in children: are they related? The Bogalusa Heart Study.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to contribute to concept clarification regarding identification of the Type A behavior pattern in children. To accomplish this, two measurement techniques for assessing Type A behavior in children (MYTH and Hunter-Wolf) were compared to a third (a teacher-rated measure of hyperactivity: the Conners), since this latter measure, although often used to diagnose hyperactive children, seemed also to measure some Type A-like behaviors. The Hunter-Wolf also included a self-assessment of Type A behavior. The conceptual and measurement issue was: Are teachers rating Type A or hyperactive/problem behaviors in children? Fifty-five teachers participated. They rated 253 students, aged 8 to 17 years, in a biracial community. The clear overlap between teacher-assessed Type A and the Conners hyperactivity measure was demonstrated when the best predictor of teacher-assessed Type A measure was the Conners. This was especially true for black males and white females. Little relationship existed between teacher-assessed Type A and self-assessment. The conclusions suggest that implications drawn from teacher-assessed Type A behavior in children may be inadequate because of potential ethnic and gender artifactual measurement error.