Conceptual style and life satisfaction following spinal cord injury.

The major purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between conceptual style and life satisfaction following a physical loss. It was predicted that conceptual abstractness is positively associated with life satisfaction. Fifty-four men between the ages of 18 and 41 who were paraplegic or quadriplegic, because of a spinal cord injury that occurred at least 18 months prior to the interview, were asked to complete questionnaires designed to measure their conceptual styles and their satisfaction with various aspects of their lives. The data suggest that: the respondents were generally satisfied with life; dissatisfaction was frequently greatest in family and other intimate relationships; and physical trauma may trigger changes in conceptual style in the direction of greater complexity and abstractness. The predicted positive association between conceptual abstractness and life satisfaction was supported in several instances by the data.