Psychosocial adaptation as a dimension of health as expanding consciousness: Effectiveness of burn survivors support groups.

摘要

This study was designed to explore the differences between participation in a burn survivors support group and psychosocial adaptation. Newman's (1986, 1994) theory of health as expanding consciousness provided a conceptual framework from which the hypothesis was derived and within which psychosocial adaptation as a dimension of expanding consciousness was explored. The Abbreviated Burn-Specific Health Scale (Munster, Horowitz, & Tudahl, 1987) was administered to 17 burn survivors. The subjects were divided into an experimental group of 10 burn survivors who participated in a support group, and a control group of 7 burn survivors who did not participate in a support group. It was hypothesized that burn survivors who participated in the support group would demonstrate greater psychosocial adaptation than those who did not participate. The hypothesis was tested using a one-way analysis of variance, which showed no significant difference between the individuals who participated in a support group and those who did not.