Journal of Behavioral Assessment, Vol. 2, No. 4, 1980 The Type A Structured Interview: A Behavioral Assessment in the Rough Margaret A. Chesney 1# , Jean R. Eagleston 1 , and Ray H. Rosenman 1 Accepted February 25, 1980 The Type A behavior pattern is the focus of considerable research in behavioral medicine because of its causal relevance to coronary heart disease. The primary assessment of Type A behavior is a global rating made from a structured inter- view. From the perspective of behavioral assessment, this Structured Interview (SI) is important for two reasons. First, it provides an example of the superiority of an observed behavioral measure compared to self-report questionnaires for the assessment of an overt behavior pattern. Second, it provides a unique op- portunity for the application of behavioral assessment technology. However, while the SI has demonstrated its clinical and research utility as a diagnostic procedure, its usefulness could be further enhanced in the areas of treatment selection and evaluation. The historical relationship between behavior and coronary heart disease is described. The development of the SI and the strengths of this assessment relative to other measurement approaches are reviewed. The standard questions and administration procedures for the interview are presented, along with several variations and modifications. Following this overview, the SI is discussed from the perspective of behavioral assessment. KEY WORDS: Type A interview; coronary-prone behavioral medicine;behavioral assessment. Pieparation of this manuscript was supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health Grant 31269. SRI International, Menlo Park, California. 2 Address all correspondence to Margaret A. Chesney, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, California 94025. 255 0164-0305/80/1200-0255503.00/0 @ 1980 Plenum Publishing Corporation