Psychosocial adaptation to spinal cord injury as a function of time since injury

The literature on the relationship between time since injury (TSI) and the clinical unfolding of psychosocial adaptation to disability has yielded mixed results. In this exploratory study we have attempted to compare two groups of people who sustained spinal cord injury (SCI) - namely, short-term TSI versus long-term TSI - on the patterns of psychosocial reactions to their medical condition. Using the initial pool of participants (n=317), two 'extreme' TSI groups were created (short-term TSI, composed of people whose injuries occurred within the last 4 years, and long-term TSI, comprising people whose injuries occurred 20 or more years ago). A two-group discriminant function analysis (DFA) applied to the eight subscales of the Reactions to Impairment and Disability Inventory (RIDI) yielded a significant function that was most closely associated with reactions of denial, shock and generalized anger, suggesting a non-acceptance of the condition among the more recently injured. Further analyses were then separately applied to the two groups of civilians and veterans with SCI. The resultant DFAs yielded functions suggesting somewhat different group patterns from the original one. Results are discussed within the context of the literature drawn from the fields of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related traumatic experiences.