title: Long-term functioning following whiplash injury: the role of social support and personality traits.
abstract: Transition from acute whiplash injury to either recovery or chronicity and the development of chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) remains a challenging issue for researchers and clinicians. The roles of social support and personality traits in long-term functioning following whiplash have not been studied concomitantly. The present study aimed to examine whether social support and personality traits are related to long-term functioning following whiplash. One hundred forty-three subjects, who had experienced a whiplash injury in a traffic accident 10-26 months before the study took place, participated. The initial diagnoses were a 'sprain of the neck' (ICD-9 code 847.0); only the outcome of grades I-III acute WAD was studied. Long-term functioning was considered within the biopsychosocial model: it was expressed in terms of disability, functional status, quality of life and psychological well-being. Participants filled out a set of questionnaires to measure the long-term functioning parameters (i.e. the Neck Disability Index, Medical Outcome Study Short-Form General Health Survey, Anamnestic Comparative Self-Assessment measure of overall well-being and the Symptom Checklist-90) and potential determinants of long-term functioning (the Dutch Personality Questionnaire and the Social Support List). The results suggest that social support (especially the discrepancies dimension of social support) and personality traits (i.e. inadequacy, self-satisfaction and resentment) are related to long-term functioning following whiplash injury (Spearman rho varied between 0.32 and 0.57; p < 0.01). Within the discrepancy dimension, everyday emotional support, emotional support during problems, appreciative support and informative support were identified as important correlates of long-term functioning. Future prospective studies are required to confirm the role of social support and personality traits in relation to long-term functioning following whiplash. For such studies, a broad view of long-term functioning within the biopsychological model should be applied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Physical Education & Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Building L-Mfys, Pleinlaan 2, BE-1050, Brussels, Belgium. Jo.Nijs@vub.ac.be
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nijs
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Inghelbrecht
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Daenen
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hachimi-Idrissi
authors.forename: Luc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hens
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Willems
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Roussel
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cras
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bernheim
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D011788:Quality of Life; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*