Abstract
The objectives of this study were: 1) to develop measures for determining individual differences in psychosocial adaptation of laryngectomy patients; 2) to examine the relationships between the psychosocial adaptation and conscious self-affirmation; 3) group patients according to distinct patterns of psychosocial adaptation, and thereby clarify inter-group differences in psychological features. We conducted a study of 503 laryngectomy patients based on the following measures: original psychosocial adaptation, self-affirmation, anxiety/depression, and induced/retained impatience. Factor analysis identified three factors in psychosocial adaptation of the patients: “efforts to achieve another adaptation”, “fulfillment in daily life”, and “lowered interpersonal oversensitivity”. High internal consistency within each factor was confirmed by the α values (.88, .81, and .83, respectively). The relationship between these three factors and mental status of the patients was then examined. The results demonstrated that “lowered interpersonal oversensitivity”, in particular, made a major contribution to all the items of self-affirmation and/or self-abnegation. Cluster analysis, based on features of the three aspects of psychosocial adaptation, showed that the patients could be divided into five groups. Each group possessed distinct psychological features, and these can give direction with regard to providing appropriate psychological support.
