Analyses of type a behavior pattern in Japanese college athletes

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the relationships between the tendencies of Type A behavior pattern (TABP) and daily sports activity for college students, under a hypothesis that daily physical training weakens the TABP tendencies. A total of 2587 students in Japanese colleges volunteered. They were divided into two groups ; an athlete group and a non-athlete group. KG's Daily Life Questionnaire was used to investigate the tendency of TABP. The athlete group showed higher TABP scores than those of the non-athlete group. Additionally, the higher competition level group showed higher scores of TABP than those of the lower level group. Contrary to the hypothesis, the athlete group showed higher TABP tendencies than those of the non-athlete group. This result might be caused by several factors, such as the nature of competition, high levels of stress involved in competitive sports and/or specific backgrounds of Japanese college sports clubs.