THE INFLUENCE OF SPINAL-CORD INJURY ON COPING STYLES AND SELF-PERCEPTIONS - A CONTROLLED-STUDY

Well-controlled research investigating psychological responses followi ng Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is lacking. In addition, much of the liter ature is based on depression following SCI and is dominated by data fr om the USA. The effects of SCI on perceptions of control, self-esteem and coping styles over the first year of SCI were investigated. Forty- one acute spinal injured patients and 41 able-bodied controls matched for age, sex and education completed a variety of standardised questio nnaires on three occasions over one year. The instruments included the Locus of Control of Behaviour Scale, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, a nd an adapted Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) Scale which measures c oping styles, including fighting spirit, helplessness/hopelessness and fatalism. The SCI group were found to be more external in their perce ptions of control, lower in self-esteem, and more helpless/hopeless an d fatalistic in attitude than the controls. The majority of the SCI gr oup had scores reflecting adaptive coping styles and intact levels of self-esteem but there were still a substantial proportion who displaye d maladaptive coping styles (e.g. external locus of control, fatalism, helplessness). No differences in scores across time were found for ei ther group. Implications for psychological rehabilitation are discusse d.