Abstract
Unfortunately, there is a few literature available at present on the subject of mental study of lepers. I, therefore, would like to present here my second report on a study concerning the mental state of lepers.
I have examined 1000 lepers at the Zensei Leper Asylum in Tokyo with a reliable psychological test designed by Prof. E. Awaji. This test consists of 50 questions to be answered by Yes or No. From these answers we can estimate the mental state of the examinee as an index-number.
With this index-number and the percentages of the answers against each question, I have reached from the statistical point of view to the following coclusions.
1) Generally speaking, the mental state of lepers in the asylum shows a slight tendency to introspection, but it still remains within the normal.
2) Between tubercular types and nervous ones I can hardly notice any difference concerning their mental states.
3) Severer cases show a greater tendency to introspection than milder cases and this tendency is observed much plainer in male case rather than female.
4) It seems that the mental state of lepers changes with their age just as that of healthy person.
5) The lepers with the. onset before 20 years of age, especially before 10, show a greater tendency to introspection than the others.
6) In the beginning of time of several years after the appearance of leprous symptoms lepers remain still in extrovertion, but they gradually fall into introspection. If, however, they enter into an asylum within the first year they can stay much longer in extrovertion than those who do not do so within that term.
7) Among miserable symptoms caused by leprosy, such as blindness, amputation of the leg and tracheotomy, the last mentioned one alone drives the mental state of patient remarkablly into introspection; but the others do not do so plainly.
8) There are 4 kind of religious parties for the intimates of the asylum, 3 Buddist and 1 Christian; I can not, however, find any difference in the mental tendency between these groups.
9) Lepers in the asylum generally seem to be in such conditions as tedium, lack of self-confidence and full of fellow-feeling.
