JOB COMPLEXITY, TYPE-A BEHAVIOR, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDER - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY

Interview-based measures of ''type A'' behavior and psychological and task-person indexes of job complexity were obtained from 251 police an d fire department employees with sound cardiovascular health. Follow-u p data on cardiovascular disorder were collected seven years later fro m participants who had remained with their organizations. The type A b ehavior pattern predicted cardiovascular disorder over time, and the r elationships between the two complexity indexes and cardiovascular mor bidity were positive among individuals with high type A behavior ratin gs but negative among those with low ratings. We discuss the implicati ons of these findings for worker health and job design.