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Sense of coherence and psychological outcomes in people with spinal cord injury: Appraisals and behavioural responses
Author(s) -
Kennedy P.,
Lude P.,
Elfström M. L.,
Smithson E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
british journal of health psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 2044-8287
pISSN - 1359-107X
DOI - 10.1348/135910709x478222
Subject(s) - psychology , spinal cord injury , coping (psychology) , clinical psychology , anxiety , cognitive appraisal , psychological intervention , psychiatry , spinal cord
Study design. Longitudinal, multi‐wave design. Objectives. To investigate the contribution of sense of coherence (SOC), appraisals, and behavioural responses when predicting psychological outcomes to spinal cord injury (SCI). Method. Patients ( N =237) sustaining a SCI aged 17 or above were recruited from specialist spinal injuries centres across six European countries. Measures of SOC, appraisals, coping strategies, and psychological well‐being were administered at 6 and 12 weeks post‐injury and at a 1 year follow‐up. Results. People scoring high on SOC at 6 weeks post‐injury showed significantly better psychological outcomes at 1 year post‐injury and SOC showed significant relationships with appraisals at 12 weeks post‐injury and coping strategies 1 year post‐injury. Significant relationships were found between appraisals at 12 weeks post‐injury and psychological outcomes, adaptive coping strategies were significantly related to psychological well‐being at 1 year post‐injury. Regression analyses found SOC, appraisals, and coping behaviours to explain 61.8% of the variance in psychological quality of life, 66.5% of the variance in depression, and 37.7% of the variance in anxiety at 1 year post‐injury. Conclusion. This study provides further evidence in support of previous findings which suggest SOC to have a primary role in long‐term psychological well‐being. The relationship described here – from SOC to the appraisal of injury and subsequent behavioural responses – suggests SOC to be an influential factor in the long‐term adjustment of people with SCI.