Psycho-social adjustment of rheumatoid arthritis patients from two alternative treatment settings.

Fifty rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are compared with a control sample of 72 non-patients on five attitude scales which measure psychol-social adjustment. Patients generally indicate more negative attitudes toward self, which are significantly related to variables such as severity of condition and socio-economic status. The adjustment of patients who are being treated by registered nurses (physician extenders) is not significantly different from that of patients who are being treated by physicians.