Japanese society, which culturally focuses more on harmony rather than individuals, tends to promote making society members to have over-adaptation, one of the psychological characteristics. The research embraced the definition of over-adaptation, as “the tendency to lose the authority due to one's excessive efforts to meet others’ expectations rather than their own needs”. Individuals with over-adaptation have higher risks for suffering depression, violent behaviors, and psychosomatic disorders, potentially creates risks for suicide and death from over-work.

The recent Japanese studies mostly focused on examining the methods that balance internal adaptation by lowering external adaptation. However, this method has risks such as inducing resistance and coincidentally making professional helps more difficult. Our research focused on one of the internal maladjustment, self-inhibition, which is the necessary communication skill.

The research focused on individuals with over-adaptation, and set the objectives to reveal their imbalance of communication skills including self-inhibition. It farther aimed to examine the preventing methods the over-adaptation, which induce people to have another psychological maladjustments.

The research conducted a questioner to students in a university and high school. It suggested that individuals with over-adaptation tendency were less skillful in representation and self-assertion, and that they had stronger skill in other areas, such as capability for others, empathy, internal relationship adjustment skill, and self-control. Since these skills were high, they coincidentally made total balance worth. Additionally, their bad physical conditions were noted.

The research suggested the effectiveness of the self-expression and assertion training to improve adaptation, which coincidentally prevents physical problems.