Spouses' perceptions of persons with aphasia

Spouses' perceptions of 21 persons with aphasia and of 25 controls were measured with the Adjective Check List (ACL, Gough & Heilbrun, 1983). Results suggest that persons with aphasia are perceived differently from controls on the following scales: likeability, achievement, endurance, order, and succorance. Also, wives of men with and without aphasia differ on the scales of achievement and endurance. Descriptive results suggest a different experience of being a spouse of a person with aphasia compared to being a spouse of a person without aphasia. Moreover, there also appears to be a difference in being a husband or a wife of a person with aphasia. The adjectives used more frequently to describe persons with aphasia were favourable ones. The changed abilities of persons with aphasia and their familial and social environments may underlie the findings. Gender, time post-onset, the type of measure used, and the therapeutic situation need to be considered when studying psychosocial aspects of aphasia.