Spirituality and life satisfaction in adults with pediatric-onset spinal cord injury.
METHODS
This study was a cross-sectional, follow-up survey.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the role of importance of religion and spiritual coping on life satisfaction in adults with pediatric-onset spinal cord injury (SCI).


METHODS
This study was carried out in a specialty hospital system.


METHODS
Individuals who sustained an SCI before age 18 completed a structured telephone interview at ages 24-45. Demographic/medical questionnaires along with standardized measures were administered: Brief COPE, FIM, Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Satisfaction with Life (SWL) scales. Spirituality was measured with a question assessing importance of religion and using the spiritual coping domain of the Brief COPE.


RESULTS
A total of 298 individuals (62% men; 56% with tetraplegia) participated in this study. Approximately half (141) of the participants reported that religion is 'important to very important' to them and 55% (163) used spiritual coping. Importance of religion and spiritual coping was significantly associated with older age (P<0.01), longer duration of injury (P<0.01) and higher SWL (P<0.05). Importance of religion was also related to higher SF-12 mental component (P<0.05). Spiritual coping was negatively associated with motor independence (P<0.05) and CHART occupation (P<0.05). Moreover, spiritual coping emerged as a predictor of SWL, whereas importance of religion did not.


CONCLUSIONS
Over half of the participants endorsed importance of religion and the use of spiritual coping. Spiritual coping, in particular, may serve a unique role in promoting SWL. Consequently, assessment of spirituality needs to become a standard part of care in the treatment of individuals with SCI and the use of spirituality-focused interventions to promote SWL should be explored.
Chlan
K M
KM
Department of Clinical Research, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Chicago, IL 60707, USA. kchlan@shrinenet.org
Zebracki
K
K
Vogel
L C
LC
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D002648:Child; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult