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Spinal cord injury: A search for determinants of depression two years after the event
Author(s) -
Craig Ashley R.,
Hancock Karen M.,
Dickson Hugh G.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
british journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0144-6657
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1994.tb01116.x
Subject(s) - depression (economics) , beck depression inventory , spinal cord injury , psychology , rehabilitation , psychopathology , psychological intervention , feeling , longitudinal study , injury prevention , physical medicine and rehabilitation , physical therapy , poison control , psychiatry , medicine , spinal cord , anxiety , medical emergency , social psychology , pathology , macroeconomics , economics
A prospective longitudinal study employing repeated measures was used to isolate factors which might predispose a person to depression two years after sustaining spinal cord injury (SCI). Thirty‐one subjects who suffered acute spinal injuries resulting in permanent loss of movement, and who had no head injuries or any preexisting psychopathology, were at least 17 years of age, and who were able to speak English, participated in the study. Using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as a measure of depression, a regression analysis demonstrated that the experience of pain two years post‐injury and feeling out of control of one's life prior to hospital discharge were predictive of depression two years post‐injury. No demographic variables or injury characteristics such as level of lesion or completeness of lesion were related to long‐term depression. Pain management and rehabilitation techniques that enhance the individual's belief of control over their lives are therefore recommended as interventions that could act to reduce depression in the long term in persons with spinal cord injury.