The Relationship Among Type A Behavior, Styles Used in Coping with Racism, and Blood Pressure

Abstract

The relationship between six cognitive styles used in coping with racism and blood pressure in 32 Black students was studied. It was hypothesized that an apathetic style would be associated with lower blood pressure readings. Also, the relationship between the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern and blood pressure was examined. As expected, weight was shown to have a strong relationship with blood pressure. The Type A dimension was positively related to diastolic pressure at rest and during mental arithmetic (mild stress). A style associated with a proactive and flexible orientation to the problems of racism was positively cor related with resting systolic blood pressure and the recovery of a diastolic pressure after stress.