TYPE-A PERSONALITY AND MARITAL INTIMACY IN AMPUTEES

The specific characteristics of the Type A personality have generated a great deal of recent attention due to the prevalence of these charac teristics in persons suffering from coronary heart disease. Type A ind ividuals are more likely to be involved in serious accidents and exper ience more secondary complications when faced with serious illness. Th ey are also less apt to incorporate appropriate coping strategies to h elp deal with pain and discomfort, or to enlist the help of others for such purposes. These studies are particularly interesting for those i nvolved in health care, as such personality characteristics may influe nce health and healing. The present study examines the Type A personal ity construct and marital intimacy in a sample of 34 lower extremity a mputees. The Survey of Work Styles (SWS) was used to measure Type A be haviour patterns, and the Waring Intimacy Questionnaire (WIQ) to asses s the marital relationship. When compared to a group of age- and sex-m atched 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 f or Type A behaviour patterns.