Patient affiliation in major illness.
Affiliation preferences among 100 Israeli out-patients with major illness were assessed in waiting room interviews. Patients preferred healthy others over being with fellow sufferers or alone, and avoided illness as a discussion topic. Secondary preference for being alone rather than with co-patients rose slightly with reported anxiety. Findings contradict the emotional comparison hypothesis that misery seeks out co-sufferers.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D004194:Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology