ENTROPY IMPLICATIONS FOR PSYCHOSOCIAL ADAPTATION The Concept of Entropy Within the Context of Psychosocial Adaptation Following the Onset of Chronic Illness and Disability: Empirical Findings and Rehabilitation Implications

Abstract

The second law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of entropy, posits that all physical processes, in a closed system, will evolve over time toward a state of higher disorder and randomness. Isolated and limited efforts to explore and examine the application of this law to human psychosocial processes (psychological entropy) have been undertaken only since the middle of the 20 th century. In this article, the authors explore direct efforts to illustrate the parallelism between psychological entropy (PE) and the process and structure of psychosocial adaptation to chronic illness and disability (CID). Several CID-associated constructs (e.g., uncertainty, ambiguity, chaotic processes, denial) are explored for their overlapping characteristics with PE. The role of constructs derived from the field of positive psychology, acting to minimize the spread of PE, is also explored. Next, two recent constructs, developed uniquely within the literature on adaptation to CID, namely, illness intrusiveness and disability centrality, are examined in the context of PE. The article concludes with suggestions on how PE can be further explored as to its clinical applications, and research venues within the field of rehabilitation.

Keywords: entropy, psychosocial adaptation, adjustment, disability, chronic illness