The importance of self-attitudes for type A–B, internality–externality and health status

A subsample of 142 undergraduates with high or low Basic and high or low Earning (by competence and othersʹ approval) self-esteem (SE) differed significantly in Type A and Locus of control scores in a way that suggests a correspondence between the Basic/Earning SE and Type A/B/internal/external typologies. People high on Earning SE showed Type A pattern, and those low on earning SE showed Type B pattern but were internals or externals depending on their Basic SE level. Further, high Basic/high Earning SE was associated with the “non-toxic” Type A component and good self-reported health whereas the low Basic/high Earning SE was related to the “toxic” Type A component and poor self-reported health. The correlations between the variables calculated for the total sample of 409 students supported the results. The implications of the present SE model for the mechanisms eliciting different attitudes to achievement and making different contributions to health risks are discussed.