ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION OVER THE 1ST YEAR OF SPINAL-CORD INJURY - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

The literature concerning the psychological consequences following spi nal cord injury (SCI) indicates a discordance between clinical impress ions and empirical research. Although many studies report that psychol ogical morbidity is not an inevitable consequence of SCI, much of this research is characterised by methodological inadequacies and the conc lusions are therefore tenuous. The present study assessed 41 persons w ith SCI for depression and anxiety using objective psychological measu res on three occasions over the first year of SCI and compared them wi th 41 able bodied controls matched for age, sex, education and, as far as possible, occupation. Results demonstrated significant differences between the two groups. with the SCI group being more anxious and dep ressed. However, psychological morbidity was not an inevitable consequ ence of SCI, with group means reflecting mild levels of depression and anxiety. No significant differences were found across time and no int eractions between groups and time were detected. Implications for the treatment of SCI are discussed.