Stress measurement : an examination of the relationship between daily stressors and the coronary-prone behavior pattern

Previous research on psychological stress has tended to focus on major life events and changes. Coronary-prone styles of living have gained popularity in assessing health risk factors. More recently, effects of daily stressors have been examined. This study explores the relationships of daily stressors ("Microstressors"), major life changes, psychological symptoms, and coronary-prone behavior in a population of married males with a diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and a comparable control population.

Data were gathered from patients in a cardiac rehabilitation program and comparable controls in a local industry. All subjects completed four instruments; the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL), and the Microstressor Test, an instrument for measuring reactions to daily stressors developed by the author.

As hypothesized, the CHD group scored higher than the control group on most psychometric instruments administered (JAS, SRRS, and Micro stressor Test). The lack of differences between groups on the HSCL suggests there are no psychological symptoms that would warn the individual of CHD risk.

Data analyses showed that JAS coronary-prone (Type A) factor scores had higher correlations to Microstressor categories than to major Ifie change (SRRS) scores. In addition, the Microstressor categories were more closely related to psychological symptoms (HSCL) than to major life changes (SRRS), but both comparisons showed significant associations.

The Type A score (JAS) was identified as the most reliable predictor of group membership, with the People (Not Family Members) category of the Microstressor Test the next most reliable predictor. None of the other variables met a liberal significance level for entry into a step-wise discriminant analysis. Also, major life changes (SRRS) were found to decrease with age as hypothesized, but the correlation failed to meet the accepted significance level.

Results were discussed in light of previous research, and recommendations for further research were offered.