Premium
Type A personality and marital intimacy in amputees
Author(s) -
Monforton Michelle,
Helmes Edward,
Deathe A. Barry
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
british journal of medical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.102
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 2044-8341
pISSN - 0007-1129
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1993.tb01750.x
Subject(s) - psychology , personality , social psychology , psychoanalysis
The specific characteristics of the Type A personality have generated a great deal of recent attention due to the prevalence of these characteristics in persons suffering from coronary heart disease. Type A individuals are more likely to be involved in serious accidents and experience more secondary complications when faced with serious illness. They are also less apt to incorporate appropriate coping strategies to help deal with pain and discomfort, or to enlist the help of others for such purposes. These studies are particularly interesting for those involved in health care, as such personality characteristics may influence health and healing. The present study examines the Type A personality construct and marital intimacy in a sample of 34 lower extremity amputees. The Survey of Work Styles (SWS) was used to measure Type A behaviour patterns, and the Waring Intimacy Questionnaire (WIQ) to assess the marital relationship. When compared to a group of age‐ and sex‐matched controls, lower extremity amputees showed higher prevalence of some Type A behaviour patterns, and, in males, lower levels of marital intimacy. The low return rate of questionnaires in this study limits its generalizability, but results remain consistent with predictions for Type A behaviour patterns.