Adolescent Type A Characteristics and Socially Problematic Behaviors

Researchers have increasingly advocated social and developmental psychology perspectives to studying Type A behavior to increase understanding of how it emerges and of how Type A individuals’ entry into different naturalistic social situations may exacerbate their stress reactions. As an initial step in these directions, we tested structural equation models relating components of Type A behavior in adolescents to childhood and adolescent socially problematic behaviors. Results from two high‐school district cohorts (Ns = approximately 300 and 700) showed that impatience, hostility, and leadership all were related to childhood problems, but that only impatience predicted an adolescent problem (conflict with friends).