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THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE 2-YEAR STUDY WAS TO MEASURE THE SOURCES OF INTERPERSONAL CONCERN AMONG THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED. BASED ON SCHULZ'S THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF INTERPERSONAL INTERACTION, "THE SCHEDULE OF INTERPERSONAL CONCERNS" WAS DEVELOPED. THIS INSTRUMENT CONTAINS 59 ITEMS DIVIDED INTO FIVE FACTORS--REJECTION, RESPONSIBILITY, PERSONAL INTRUSION, SOCIAL ENMESHMENT, AND INDEPENDENCE. THREE GROUPS OF THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED WERE CHOSEN FOR APPLICATION OF THE INSTRUMENT. THE TWO GROUPS WITH SENSORY HANDICAPS (56 DEAF AND 42 BLIND) WERE PREDICTED TO SHOW CONCERN OVER REJECTION. THE GROUP OF 38 CARDIOVASCULAR HANDICAPPED WAS EXPECTED TO SHOW CONCERN OVER THE CONTROL DIMENSION OR INDEPENDENCE. CONTROL SAMPLES OF 71 "NORMAL" PEOPLE WERE MATCHED TO EACH OF THE HANDICAPPED GROUPS. DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE DATA (T-TEST) SHOWED SIGNIFICANT SUPPORT OF THE HYPOTHESES. SOME LIMITATIONS OF THE INSTRUMENT OR SAMPLING PROCEDURES WITH THE DEAF WERE NOTED. ANALYSIS WITHIN HANDICAPPED GROUPS INDICATED THAT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANINGS OF A PHYSICAL HANDICAP ARE RELATED TO LIFE STAGES AND OCCUPATIONAL LEVELS. FURTHER RESEARCH IN THIS AREA IS SUGGESTED. (NS)

TO DETERMINE THE WORK VALUES OF THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED, A WORK MOTIVATION SCHEDULE WAS DEVELOPED AND ADMINISTERED TO 200 NORMAL WHITE MEN AND 200 WOMEN OF REPRESENTATIVE NATIONAL AVERAGE AGE AND EDUCATION AND TO CEREBRAL PALSIED, DEAF, 63 RECENT AMPUTEES FROM THE VIETNAM WAR AND NEURO-PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS. COMPARISON OF THE TWO GROUPS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN WORK MOTIVATION WITH VARIANT SOCIAL ROLES OF THE HANDICAPPED CAUSING THE VARIATION. CHOICE OF OCCUPATIONAL ROLE WAS SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO THE PERCEIVED SOCIAL ROLE IN THE WORLD OF WORK. A RELATIONSHIP EXISTED BETWEEN THE NATURE OF A PARTICULAR HANDICAP AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MEANINGS OF THE HANDICAP AS SOURCES OF INTERPERSONAL ANXIETY AND CONCERN. FOR EXAMPLE, FEELINGS OF RECENT AMPUTEES FROM VIETNAM OF BEING MARGINAL SOCIALLY WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL AND THEIR CONCERN OF BEING SIGNIFICANT TO OTHERS AGAIN AFTER DISCHARGE MAY HAVE ACCOUNTED FOR ELEVATED SCORES. THE HIGHLY VARIANT SOCIAL ROLE OF THE NEURO-PSYCHIATRIC GROUP WAS REFLECTED IN HIGHLY VARIANT VALUE-ORIENTATION. THE DEAF VALUED WORK MORE HIGHLY BECAUSE IT PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHERS. THUS INTERPERSONAL CONCERNS SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED VALUATION OF WORK IN THAT THE HANDICAPPED WERE SENSITIZED TO THOSE INTERPERSONAL ASPECTS OF WORK WHICH CAUSED THEM CONCERN. FURTHER STUDY IS NEEDED TO RELATE THE SOCIOPSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT OF VARIOUS GROUPS OF THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED TO PATTERNS OF WORK VALUATION. PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE STUDY IS TO PROVIDE HANDICAPPED WORKERS WITH A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SATISFACTION THEY SEEK FROM WORK, SO THAT OCCUPATIONAL CHOICE CAN BE MORE IN LINE WITH VALUES. THE APPENDIX INCLUDES THE WORK MOTIVATION SCHEDULE, SURVEY STATISTICS IN TABULAR FORM, AND REFERENCES. (FP)