No abstract

Examined the relation of alcohol abuse history to emotional adjustment and pressure sore occurrence during the 1st 3 years following Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Study Design: Comparisons were made between varying levels of prior abuse and depression and disability acceptance. A model predicting pressure sore occurrence over 3 years was computed. Participants: One hundred seventy-five persons completed the self-report measures; 105 were available for pressure sore evaluations. Main Outcome Measures: The Inventory to Diagnose Depression, the Acceptance of Disability Scales, and pressure sore occurrence. Results: Alcohol abuse was not associated with depression or disability acceptance. Severe alcohol abuse history was associated with pressure sores over the 3 years. Conclusions: Persons with prior history of severe alcohol abuse may be at increased risk for pressure sore occurrence during the 1st years of SCI.

No abstract

Investigations of attribution for responsibility for onset of spinal cord injury (SCI) have resulted in inconsistent findings when relating such attributions to psychosocial outcomes. Very few studies have investigated this phenomenon in a prospective, longitudinal fashion. We prospectively followed 80 persons with recent onset traumatic SCI and examined patient and staff attributions for responsibility for onset of SCI, the stability of those measures over time, and their relationship to measures of life satisfaction and family adjustment. Twenty-five percent of the sample changed self-attributions of responsibility over time. Self-attribution of responsibility was associated with lower life satisfaction during rehabilitation, but this difference dissipated by one year post injury. Self-attribution of responsibility was not predictive of patientassessed family adjustment. Staff assessment of patient responsibility for onset of injury was not predictive of outcomes even when congruence/incongruence between patient and staff attributions was examined. Implications for further investigation are discussed.

Examined the interpersonal responses of persons engaged in dyadic interactions with confederates who enacted either depressed or socially appropriate roles and appeared either with or without a physical disability. Subject negative evaluations of confederates were indirectly obtained from a thought‐listing measure. The overt behaviors of subjects were surreptitiously recorded on videotape and measures of verbal and nonverbal behavior were acquired. Subjects spoke less to the depressed targets and had significantly higher rates of negative evaluations of these persons. In addition, subjects gazed less at the depressed confederates. These effects were not moderated by target physical appearance. Findings are discussed as they relate to social models of depression and the stigmatizing effects of disability.