Relationship of life satisfaction to impairment, disability, and handicap among persons with spinal cord injury living in the community

Marcus J. Fuhrer, Diana H. Rintala, Karen A. Hart, Rebecca R. Clearman, Mary Ellen Young

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

320 Scopus citations

Abstract

The level and correlates of the life satisfaction of persons with spinal cord injury who are residing in the community were investigated. One hundred men and 40 women were chosen randomly from a cohort of 640 persons with spinal cord injury residing in a 13-county area in southeast Texas. The mean Life Satisfaction Index-A (LSIA-A) was lower than reported previously for persons in the general population. The LSIA-A was not correlated significantly with chronologic variables, the ASIA Total Motor Index Score, or a self-report version of the Functional Independence Measure. The LSIA-A was associated positively with self-assessed health, perceived control, and social support, as well as with the Social Integration, Occupation, and Mobility dimensions of the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique. From the standpoint of an augmented version of the World Health Organization model of disablement, the life satisfaction of persons with spinal cord injury appears to be influenced, albeit indirectly, by selective aspects of their social role performance (handicap), but not by their degree of impairment or disability.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)552-557
Number of pages6
JournalArchives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Volume73
Issue number6
StatePublished - Jan 1 1992

Keywords

  • Disability
  • Handicap
  • Impairment
  • Life satisfaction
  • Spinal cord injury

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
  • Rehabilitation

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