Positive and negative affect in individuals with spinal cord injuries

Abstract

Study design: Participants with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and healthy controls completed standardized questionnaires assessing depression level, positive and negative affect, and personality traits. Objectives: To identify the specific characteristics of emotional experiences affected by spinal cord injury. Setting: A Canadian rehabilitation center. Individuals with SCIs were recruited from a list of patients who had volunteered to participate in studies being conducted by the SCI clinic. Healthy controls were recruited from the community, but tested in the SCI clinic. Methods: Thirty-six individuals with complete (ASIA A) SCIs and 36 age-, gender-and education-matched controls participated in this study. SCI participants were classified as cervical (C1-C7), upper thoracic (T1-T5) or lower thoracic/upper lumbar (T6-L2). All participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedules, the NEO Neuroticism Questionnaire, and the harm avoidance scale of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using independent-samples t-tests (when contrasting SCI and controls) and analysis of variance (when comparing across SCI groups). Results: Participants with SCIs experienced significantly less positive affect than controls. The two groups did not differ in their experience of negative affect. Participants with SCIs also reported greater levels of depression. Depression scores improved with an increasing number of years post injury. Conclusion: Individuals with SCIs are characterized by specific emotional dysfunction related to the experience of positive emotions, rather than a tendency to ruminate on negative emotions. The results suggest that these individuals would benefit from rehabilitation programs that include training in positive psychology.

It’s All of the Above: Benefits of Working for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury

“…Previous research has discussed the impact of SCI on psychological and emotional health. [8][9][10][11] In this study, participants identified a positive effect on psychological and emotional health as a quality outcome of employment. An idea noted by many participants was that work kept them busy, helping them avoid depression, addiction, and morbid thinking.…”

Flow and Meaningfulness as Mechanisms of Change in Self-Concept and Well-Being Following a Songwriting Intervention for People in the Early Phase of Neurorehabilitation

“…The PANAS has convergent validity when correlated with the Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale [ t (986) = 7.523, p < 0.001] and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [ t (737) = 7.667, p < 0.001] (Crawford and Henry, 2004 ). PANAS has been used in both ABI (e.g., Juengst et al, 2014 ) and SCI research (Salter et al, 2013 ).…”

Mindfulness for pain, depression, anxiety, and quality of life in people with spinal cord injury: a systematic review

“…Whilst the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was most frequently used (with demonstrated validity in people with SCI [24]), the Beck Depression Inventory has also been found to perform well in SCI populations [25]. However, despite the Positive and Negative Affect Scale being utilised in prior work with people with SCI, this measure has not been validated in this group [26]. Pain-related outcomes were also frequently assessed, with four studies utilising the Brief Pain Inventory [6,20,22,23] (an established reliable and valid measure of pain-related interference in people with SCI and pain [27]).…”