The Moderating Effect of the Type A Behavior Pattern and Locus of Control upon the Relationship Between Change in Job Demands and Change in Psychological Strain

Abstract

This paper examines (1) the relationship between changes in job demands and changes in psychological strain across time, and (2) the moderating effect of the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) and locus of control, or internality-externality (I-E) on this relationship. TABP and I-E were hypothesized to moderate job demands because they appear as factors likely to affect the longer-term coping patterns of individuals, or coping styles. Among the job demand variables, increases in qualititative "low-load" were most strongly predictive of increases in psychological strain. Significant moderating effects were observedfor both TABP and I-E. With the TABP, a uniform pattern offindings emerged in that all the significant partial correlations were negative in direction, indicating that where job demands increased, Type As experienced less psychological strain than Type Bs. With I-E, however, the direction of the partial correlations varied dependent on the type of job demand.