Attribution of responsibility for injury and long-term outcome of patients with paralytic spinal cord trauma.
METHODS
Survey.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the association between patients' perceptions of responsibility for the injury and long term outcomes.


METHODS
Duke University Medical Center Spinal Injury Service.


METHODS
One hundred and forty patients, who suffered spinal cord injuries between 1985 and 1990, were selected to participate in the study, and 26 (19%), including eight with quadriplegia, completed a telephone interview. The mean age at interview was 39+/-12 years and 12% were women. The mean time from injury to completion of the study was 8.7+/-1.5 years. Attribution of cause of injury, the Craig Handicap Assessment Reporting Technique, and the SF36 mental health depression/vitality surveyed instruments attribution of responsibility for the injury, functional capacity, mental health depression, and vitality.


RESULTS
The majority (18/26) of patients either totally blamed themselves or others for their injuries. Overall, there was no statistically significant association between attribution of injury and long-term outcomes. Outcomes were similar in patients who either totally blamed themselves or others for their predicament.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, long-term outcomes were not influenced by whether patients perceived themselves as being responsible for their injuries.
Brown
K
K
Spine Injury Service, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Bell
M H
MH
Maynard
C
C
Richardson
W
W
Wagner
G S
GS
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000523:psychology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome