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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 159 (2014) 682 - 685
WCPCG 2014
Association between Type A/B Behavior Pattern and Alcohol Consumption in Undergraduate Students
Aleksandra Maria Rogowskaa*
aOpole University of Technology Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy Proszkowska Street 76/ B-9, room 204 45-758 Opole Poland
Abstract
The present preliminary study examines an association between Type A behavior pattern and alcohol drinking pattern in Polish undergraduate students. Recognition of all factors associated with binge drinking seem to be necessary for the preparation the suitable prevention program at university. The sample of 113 second-year university students took part in self-administered questionnaires: the Alcohol Drinking Scale and the Framingham Type A Scale. Women drank less beer and spirits than men. Contrary to expectation, Type A behavior pattern not correlated with alcohol consumption. However, male students who demonstrated low alcohol drinking pattern scored higher in the Framingham Type A Scale than others. The prevention program at the university should refer to men abstainers, as well as heavy drinkers. © 2014 PublishedbyElsevierLtd.Thisis anopen access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Academic World Education and Research Center. Keywords: Recognition, Type A Scale, heavy drinkers.
1. Main text
Ford and Arrastia's (2008) review study demonstrated that substance use increases during adolescence and assigned the highest prevalence at the college age (18-24 years old). Indeed, heavy drinking is a major concern among both college and university students (Prince, Carey, & Maisto, 2013), and it is truly a threat to health. Frequent heavy episodic drinkers have higher odds of experiencing physical, academic, interpersonal and sexual alcohol-related consequences, such as poor academic performance, personal injury, high-risk sexual behavior, and even death (Prince et al., 2013). Polish students seems to consume more drinks per week than American students,
* Aleksandra Maria Rogowska. Tel.: +48 604732259. E-mail address: a.rogowska@po.opole.pl or rogolinka@gmail.com
1877-0428 © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the Academic World Education and Research Center. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.12.468
especially with regard to drinking wine (Engs et al., 1991). Generally, alcohol consumption in Poland is characterized by a relatively low drinking frequency and a large drinking quantity per occasion (Smart & Ogborne, 2000). Because the number of students enrolled in colleges and universities has been on the rise over the past decades (Ford & Arrastia, 2008), it seems necessary to improve prevention strategies with reference to students of all types in higher education. Recognition of all factors associated with binge drinking seems to be necessary for preparing suitable prevention programs at university.
The Type A behavior pattern (TABP) seems to be one of the factors moderating consumption of alcohol. The TABP is characterized by extremes of hostility, competitiveness, aggressiveness, dominance, impulsivity, restlessness, hurry, and impatience (Rosenman, 1986). Type A behavior is more likely to be positively associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and psychosomatic health problems (e.g., Matteson & Ivancevich, 1982; Rosenman, 1986; Thornton, Ryckman, & Gold, 2011). TABP has also been correlated positively with alcohol consumption (e.g., Folsom et al., 1985; Camargo, Vranizan, Thoresen, & Wood, 1986). On the other hand, in the past decade, many epidemiological studies have been undertaken providing evidence that moderate intake of alcohol (1-2 drinks per day for women and 2-4 for men) may reduce the risk of many diseases, such as CHD, blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, and cancers (e.g., Foster & Marriott, 2006). Thus, the role of alcohol in health seems to be equivocal, especially in the context of coronary-prone behavior patterns. The current preliminary study seeks to examine the relationship between TABP and alcohol consumption in undergraduate students.
2. Method
2.1 Participants and procedure
The sample consisted of 113 second-year students from a large, public university in the south of Poland. All students were Caucasian and White, aged between 19 and 41 years (M = 22.47, SD = 3.51), with a prevalence of men (n = 70, 62%). A self-administered questionnaire was distributed during class hours, with the agreement of professors to participate. Participation in the questionnaire was voluntary, anonymous, and confidential.
2.2 Measures
The Alcohol Drinking Scale (ADS) consisted of six self-completed questions related to degree of frequency and quantity of alcohol drinking during the last 12 months and 30 days. The results of all six questions were summarized (scores ranged from 10 to 83), and a high Total ADS indicated high frequency and quantity of drinking alcohol, and high risk of alcohol abuse or dependence (Cronbach's a = 0.87, K-S d = 0.08; p < 0.20). A "Low" drinking pattern was noted for those participants who drank less than 1 drink per single occasion (n = 23, 20%), a "Moderate" pattern for those who consumed 1 -4 drinks per occasion (n = 47, 42%), and a "High" pattern for those who drank 5 or more beverages per one occasion (n = 43, 38%). The Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS) was assessed for Type A/B personality (Haynes et al., 1978). The FTAS is a self-report questionnaire that consists of 10 items largely relevant to the hard-driving and impatience aspects of TABP. The scores ranged between Min. = 0.13 and Max. = 1.0, with meanM = .52, and standard deviation SD = 0.20 (Cronbach's a = 0.70; K-S d = .007;p < 0.20). Those participants who scored higher than +0.5 SD above the mean were selected as Type A (n = 42, 37%), those scoring lower than -0.5 SD below the mean were chosen as Type B (n = 37, 33%), and students who scored between -0.5 SD and +0.5 SD (n = 34, 30%) were classified as a mixture of Type A/B.
3. Results and discussion
Contrary to expectations, the FTAS did not correlate significantly with the ADS (r = 0.08, p = 0.41) in the current study. An one-way ANOVA revealed that the Type A behavior pattern did not differed from either Type B or mixed Type A/B in terms of alcohol drinking, F(2, 110) = 0.29, p = 0.75. However, when gender (Men, Women) and alcohol drinking pattern (Low, Moderate, High) were included into the analysis of variance as factors and the FTAS scores as a dependent variable, significant effects were found for gender [F(1, 107) = 5.61, p = 0.02], and for interaction between gender and alcohol drinking pattern [F(2, 107) = 5.95, p = 0.004]. The post-hoc LSD test
showed that the sample of low drinking male students (n = 8) scored higher in the FTAS than the other samples (Table 1). The current result may differ from previous studies (Folsom et al., 1985; Camargo et al., 1986), in terms of the gender of participants (only men participated in the previous study) and/or because of using a distinct assessment for TABP and alcohol intake. Indeed, the hostility component of the TABP has been found to be the best predictor of alcohol use in white males (Johnson, Hunter, Amos, Elder, & Berenson, 1989). Unfortunately, the FTAS used in the present study did not incorporate hostility measurement. Inter-cultural differences in alcohol use and TABP should also be compiled into an extension of the current explanation. In Johnson et al.'s (1989) study, older black males, white females, and black females who used alcohol did not differ significantly from non-users in the Type A measures. Levin, Jenkins, and Rose (1988) found that type A and alcohol consumption were related positively in Protestants and converts, and negatively in church-going Catholics. Although religious orientation was not taken into account in the present study, one can assume a prevalence of Catholics among Polish students.
Table 1. Interaction between alcohol drinking pattern and gender in the FTAS
Alcohol Drinking Pattern Men Women
n M SD n M SD
High 34 0.54 0.21 9 0.52 0.26
Moderate 28 0.48 0.17 19 0.52 0.18
Low 8 0.76 0.12 15 0.45 0.21
Table 2. Differences between male and female students in various types of alcoholic drinks
Men Women
n = 70 n = 43
Alcohol Drinking Scale M SD M SD F(1,111) P
Beer 11.89 3.83 8.40 3.53 23.46 .00000
Wine 7.43 4.01 7.86 3.13 0.36 .548
Spirits 10.66 3.67 7.40 4.11 19.16 .00003
In the present study, Hotelling's T MANOVA was used to examine drinking patterns (Beer, Wine, Spirits) in male and female students (Table 2). A significant effect was found for gender [F(1, 111) = 12.85, p = 0.0005] and type of alcoholic beverage [F(2, 222) = 22.66, p < 0.0000, Wilkis's X = 0.70], with an interaction effect between these variables, F(2, 222) = 17.56, p < 0.0000, Wilkis's X = 0.79. Women drank less beer and spirits than men. The most preferred drinks for students were respectively: beer, spirits and wine. This result seems to comply with the previous findings of Wicki et al. (2010) and Engs et al. (1991).
3. Conclusions and recommendations
Moderate and heavy drinking students showed a mixed Type A/B behavior pattern that seems to be more healthy than Type A. Thus, the type of behavior pattern may be seen as a protective factor during excessive alcohol drinking among students. However, low drinking males may be at higher risk of CHD, due to their Type A personality. In Zeichner, Edwards and Cohen's (1985) study, alcohol seemed to effect a reduction in the state of anxiety following a stressor to the largest degree in Type A individuals who had had the longest previous exposure to alcohol (i.e., moderate chronic alcohol use). Thus, the prevention program at the university should include Type A male abstainers, as well as heavy drinkers.
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