Female adolescent alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use: similarities and differences in patterns of use.

Five categories of variables were examined as predictors of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use in a sample of 1,416 girls aged 13 to 17 years in Northwestern Ontario. A similar pattern of unique predictors emerged for the three drugs for three of the categories: the concurrent use of another drug, conventional educational attitudes and behaviors, and rebellious behaviors. A different pattern was found for the social and demographic categories between the inhaled drugs and alcohol. These differences emphasize the need to determine the specific predictors of drug use for each substance before planning regionally based drug prevention programs.

Heart rate perception in the type A personality.

Heart rate (HR) estimation and actual HRs were obtained from 28 Type A and 28 Type B males before and after receiving feedback about their actual HR levels, and during performance of a moderately stressful task, digit recall. Self-reports of affective arousal during digit recall were also obtained from the Anxiety scale of the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (MAACL) and a self-report questionnaire measuring affective reactions. Type As showed significantly higher HR increases during the digit recall than did Type Bs. Type As also reported significantly more affective reactions than Type Bs on the self-report questionnaire, but not on the MAACL Anxiety scale. Type As significantly overestimated their HRs relative to Type B at rest before receiving feedback, and during the digit-recall task. These results contradict the usual assumption that Type As underestimate their arousal levels.

Type A behavior, aerobic power, and cardiovascular recovery from a psychosocial stressor.

Fifty-six male university students were tested for actual aerobic power and Type A behavior (Form T of the Jenkins Activity Survey) before performing the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test. Neither fitness nor Type A was related to magnitude of heart rate (HR) increase, and only Type A was related to speed of recovery following the test, with Type As being slower to return to baseline HR levels than Type Bs. These results are discussed in terms of the need to consider factors that mediate speed of recovery from stress.

Effects of subject-to-experimenter distance and instructions on lateral eye movement.

Lateral eye movements and heart rate were recorded as 32 right-handed men answered verbal and spatial questions. Experimenter-to-subject distance (.8 and 1.5 m) and attention demand of instructions were manipulated in a 2 X 2 design. A significant main effect for distance and an interaction of distance by instructions appeared on the direction of eye movements independent of type of question. The greatest number of leftward eye movements occurred at the short distance with instructions demanding higher attention. These findings are consistent with evidence that emotional arousal produces greater right- than left-hemisphere activation.

Type A behavior and cardiovascular recovery from a psychosocial stressor.

The present study examined heart rate responses of Type A and Type B individuals during and after performance on the Stroop perceptual conflict task. The student version of the Jenkins Activity Survey was administered to thirty-two male Caucasians, who then performed the Stroop task for six minutes under conditions that emphasized time urgency and competition. Results showed that Type A's recovered significantly slower than Type B's after task completion. Type A's, compared to Type B's reported feeling more angry, time pressured, and impatient. The notion that Type A individuals may be at higher risk for coronary heart disease because of maladaptively prolonged cardiovascular arousal was discussed.