Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the ways of coping with ‘uncontrollable situations,’ and its relation with life attitude.
Subjects were 146 people with physical disabilities (PPD) and 155 considered normal people (NP). The investigation consisted of a questionnaire on their life attitude, and a completion of stories on the coping with uncontrollable situations. The results were as follows: (1) By the factor analysis, three factors were identified; ‘the value of life,’ ‘positive expectation to the future,’ and ‘helplessness.’ (2) As the ‘uncontrollable situation,’ subjects were asked to complete both stories of (The individual with Disability) and (The Aged Person) who were confronted with the difficult situation of a life by themselves. More PPD answered that they would continue to live by themselves than NP. Moreover, more PPD responded with the instrumental coping to deal with the situation than NP.(3) Among the group of PPD, the ones who chose to give up their single life felt less than ‘the value of life.’
