Article

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship of self-esteem and wheelchair type with
participation of young adult manual and power wheelchair users with diverse
physical disabilities. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study. SETTING: Large
University Campus. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of college students (N =
39) with self-reported physical disabilities who are full time wheelchair users
(>40 per week) and are two or more years post illness or injury. INTERVENTIONS:
Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used
to measure self-esteem, and the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique
was used to measure participation. RESULTS: Self-esteem correlated highly with
cognitive independence (CI) (r = 0.58), mobility (r = 0.67) and social
integration (SI) (r = 0.52). Use of manual wheelchair was significantly related
to higher levels of CI and mobility while longer use of any wheelchair (power or
manual) was significantly associated with higher levels of mobility and SI. In
addition higher self-esteem independently predicted a significant proportion of
the variance in CI, mobility and SI, while type of wheelchair predicted a
significant proportion of the variance in CI (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: High
self-esteem was found to be the strongest predictor of participation in a
population of young adults with mobility limitations. Better understanding of the
factors influencing participation may help to facilitate new interventions to
minimize the disparities between persons with disabilities and their able bodied
peers. Implication for Rehabilitation A total of 46.8% of wheelchair users report
the desire for increased community participant but face significant barriers. The
type of wheelchair has been identified as having a large impact on participation.
This study found self-esteem to be the strongest predictor of participation,
which is notable because self-esteem is a characteristic that is potentially
modifiable with treatment.

Langue : ANGLAIS