Critical Incident Stress

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As you can see, each scale below is composed of a pair of adjectives or phrases separated by a series of horizontal lines. Each pair has been chosen to represent two kinds of contrasting behaviour. Each of us belongs somewhere along the line between the two extremes. Since most of us are neither the most competitive nor the least competitive person we know put a check mark where you think you belong between the two extremes.

                               1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1.  Doesn't mind leaving                       Must get things finished once 
    things temporarily                         started.
    finished.                  _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2.  Calm and unhurried                         Never late for appointments
    about appointments         _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3.  Not competitive            _ _ _ _ _ _ _    Highly competitive

4.  Listens well, lets other                    Anticipates others in 
    people finish speaking                      conversation (nods, interrupts
                               _ _ _ _ _ _ _    finishes sentences for others)
5.  Never in a hurry, even                      Always in a hurry
    when pressured.            _ _ _ _ _ _ _

6.  Able to wait calmly        _ _ _ _ _ _ _    Uneasy when waiting

7.  Easygoing                  _ _ _ _ _ _ _    Always going full speed

8.  Takes one thing at a                        Tries to do more than one thing
    time                                        at a time, thinks about what to
                               _ _ _ _ _ _ _    do next.

9.  Slow and deliberate                         Vigorous and forceful in speech
    in speech                  _ _ _ _ _ _ _    (uses a lot of gestures)

10. Concerned with satisfying                   Wants recognition by others for 
    himself, not others        _ _ _ _ _ _ _    a job well done

11. Slow doing things          _ _ _ _ _ _ _    Fast doing things (i.e. eating)

12.  Easygoing                 _ _ _ _ _ _ _    Hard driving

13. Expresses feelings openly  _ _ _ _ _ _ _    Holds feelings in

14. Has a large number of                       Few interests outside work
    interests                  _ _ _ _ _ _ _

15. Satisfied with job                          Ambitious, wants quick 
                               _ _ _ _ _ _ _    advancement on job

16. Never sets own deadlines   _ _ _ _ _ _ _    Often sets own deadlines

17. Feels limited respon-                       Always feels responsible
    sibility                   _ _ _ _ _ _ _

18. Never judges things in                      Often judges things in terms of
    terms of numbers           _ _ _ _ _ _ _    numbers (how much, how many)

19. Casual about work                           Takes work very seriously 
                                                (works weekends, brings work 
                               _ _ _ _ _ _ _    home)

20. Not very precise                            Very precise (careful about 
                               _ _ _ _ _ _ _    detail)

Scoring: Assign a value from 1 to 7 for each score. Total them up. The categories are as follows:

Total score - 110 to 140 Type A1
If you are in this category, and especially if you are over 40 and smoke, you are likely to have a high risk of developing cardiac illness

Total score - 80 to 109 Type A2
You are in the direction of being cardiac prone, but your risk is not as high as the A1. You should, nevertheless, pay careful attention to the advise given to all Type A's.

Total score - 60 to 79 Type AB
You are an admixture of A and B patterns. This is a healthier pattern than either A1 or A2, but you have the potential for slipping into A behaviour and you should recognize this.

Total score - 30 to 59 Type B2
Your behaviour is on the less-cardiac-prone end of the spectrum. You are generally relaxed and cope adequately with stress.

Total score - 0 to 29 Type B1
You tend to the extreme of non-cardiac traits. Your behaviour expresses few of the reactions associated with cardiac disease.