Estimating social adjustment following spinal trauma-II: Population trends and effects of compensation on adjustment

• Published in: Spinal cord Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 349 - 357
• Main Authors: GLASS, C. A, JACKSON, H. F, DUTTON, J, CHARLIFUE, S, ORRITT, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing 01-06-1997
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Humans; Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents; Jurisprudence; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Social Adjustment; Spinal Cord Injuries - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Time Factors; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents; United Kingdom; United States; United Kingdom; United States; North America; Europe; America; Human; Affective disorder; Nervous system diseases; Spinal cord; Demography; Litigation; Central nervous system disease; Social adjustment; Evolution; Spinal cord disease; Trauma; Comparative study
• ISSN: 1362-4393; 1476-5624
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.sc.3100448

Adaptation to, or acceptance of, acquired spinal cord injury is accepted as an essentially longitudinal process. Changes in an individual's social, financial and domestic positions in turn affect issues concerning quality of life and self-image. The responses of 302 individuals with spinal cord injury in the United Kingdom and United States of America are presented to produce individual profiles of social adjustment. The differences between the UK and USA groups are presented, together with a combined analysis which addresses, in particular, the effects which being involved in litigation has on the process of social adjustment. Individual data concerning social adjustment, provided through a scale developed by the authors, and the utility of graphical presentation of the data is also presented. Such presentation has been found to have particular importance in clinical interview, situations by providing a framework for further exploration of individual adjustment difficulties, and in legal settings.