Abstract
It is well known that the Okinawan people have the longest average life span in all of Japan and the rate per 100,000 of centenarians in Okinawa is about five times higher than the average for the whole of Japan. In this study, the author attempts to elucidate characteristics of Okinawan centenarians in terms of the Type A behavior pattern in their prime of life.
The survey was done for the subjects of sixty Okinawan centenarians and sixty-eight middle-aged and aged Okinawan controls using a brief questionnaire developed by Maeda based on Jenkins Activity Survey by recall method. In comparison of frequency of Type A, statistically no significant difference was found between centenarians and controls. Contents of the questionnaire and distributions of mean scores for each item demonstrated that profiles of the centenarians' Type A behavior pattern were different from those of controls, especially centenarians showed low scores in “time urgency” and “tension”, but high scores in “self-confidence” and “unyieldingness”.
Okinawan centenarians may be judged as Type A outwardly, but when considering their detailed profiles of behavior pattern they are different from the control group and in these profile differences it might be possible to find psychological or psychosocial clues for their longevity.
