Analyses were done at three levels: for the whole sample, separately for males and females, and for a subgroup of 192 married couples it was done by 'pairs'. To determine univariate association between anger-coping types and all-cause mortality, the percent deceased was compared among persons grouped according to their anger responses. For the situation-specific and total suppressed anger indices, the distribution of scores was divided into thirds. The significance of each association was tested using chi-square statistics. Logistic regression was employed to test for the significance of the association between anger-coping measures and mortality controlling for sex, age, education, marital stress, relative weight, smoking, systolic blood pressure, CHD status, bronchitis, and FEV1 scores. Logistic regression was also used to determine whether any of the risk factors, particularly blood pressure, gender and marital stress, significantly modified the relationship between suppressed anger and mortality. The design and measures of this study had the potential to further identify specific person-situation characteristics associated with higher risks of total as well as cause specific mortality which then could be used to make more knowledgeable recommendations for health behavior interventions.