HEART-RATE REACTIVITY AND THE TYPE-A BEHAVIOR PATTERN IN 3 AGE-GROUPSOF AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN

The relationship between the Type A Behaviour Pattern and heart-rate r eactivity to the onset of a typical stressor was investigated with a s ample of Australian boys and girls from three age-grade levels: presch ool, middle-elementary, and upper-elementary. Behaviour Pattern was me asured with the Matthews Youth Test for Health (Matthews & Angulo, 198 0), and data were collected on children's second-by-second heart rate during rest and the stressor tasks. Reactivity to the onset of the str essor task (a puzzle game or mental arithmetic), was assessed. Results indicated that there were expected age differences in resting and str essor task heart rates, but that there was no significant difference i n heart-rate reactivity between children classified as Type A or B Beh aviour Pattern, either for the entire sample, for two extreme subsampl es, or within each of the three age groups.