Article

OBJECTIVE: To describe the course of social support in persons with recently
acquired spinal cord injury, and to examine direct and indirect relationships
between social support and life satisfaction over time. DESIGN: A multi-centre
prospective cohort study with measurements at the start of active rehabilitation,
at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation and one year after discharge.
SUBJECTS: One hundred and ninety individuals with spinal cord injury from 8 Dutch
rehabilitation centres. METHODS: Social support was measured with the Social
Support List-12. Life satisfaction was measured as the sum score of current life
satisfaction and current life satisfaction compared with life satisfaction before
spinal cord injury. Distress was operationalized as functional dependence and
measured with the Functional Independence Measure. Random coefficient analysis
was used for the analyses. RESULTS: Everyday social support and support in
problem situations decreased, and esteem support remained stable over time.
Everyday support and support in problem situations were directly associated with
life satisfaction over time. Significant interaction effects between social
support and distress on life satisfaction were found. CONCLUSION: Different types
of social support showed different courses over time. Social support was
associated with life satisfaction after spinal cord injury, in particular in
persons with relatively high levels of distress.

Langue : ANGLAIS