September/October 2003
HEALTH BYTES

Type As have lower quality of life

Type A personalities—those people who are hostile, irritable and impatient—appear to have a lower quality of life and are less satisfied with their lives, according to a new study. In the study, researchers asked 72 men and women to respond to more than 40 different hypothetical situations, such as how they’d feel if they were stuck in a traffic jam. Those who responded most negatively to the scenarios (that is, who had more type A personality traits) also reported having a lower quality of life. Quality of life was rated according to the participants’ feelings of satisfaction, competence, productivity, personal empowerment, independence, social belonging and community integration.