TYPE-A BEHAVIOR AND HOSTILITY IN FINAL-YEAR SOUTH-AFRICAN STUDENTS

The aim of this study was to examine the incidence of the Type A Behav iour Pattern (TABP) and hostility in black, Indian and white final-yea r students in professional study courses, against the background of th e established intergroup differences in the incidence of cardiovascula r disease (CVD) in South Africa. The student form of the Jenkins Activ ity Survey, the Bortner Type A Scale and the Cook-Medley Hostility sca le were administered to 50 black, 42 Indian and 266 white final-year s tudents in medical, paramedical, legal and engineering courses at thre e universities with a majority of, respectively, black, Indian and whi te students. No significant differences were found among the three gro ups regarding hostility, but significantly more white subjects display ed TABP than black and Indian subjects did. This corresponds with the phenomenon that white South Africans display the highest incidence of CVD. It is possible that the findings may reflect the groups' respecti ve traditional value systems, namely the western emphasis on individua l achievement in as little time as possible in whites, as opposed to t he emphasis on the interest of the extended family as a whole, in cont rast to individual achievement, in the Indian and black communities.