title: Trajectories of Life Satisfaction After Spinal Cord Injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe individual-level temporal change in life satisfaction after spinal cord injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Individual growth curve (IGC) analysis of prospectively collected data from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research National Spinal Cord Injury Database (NSCID).
  
  
  METHODS
  Multicenter, longitudinal database study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (N=4846) in the NSCID.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rasch-transformed Satisfaction With Life Scale scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individual-level trajectories reflecting life satisfaction vary extensively and are associated with demographic and injury-related characteristics. Demographic characteristics include race, sex, pre-employment and discharge marital status, and level of education; injury-related factors include days in rehabilitation, neurologic level, age at injury, and injury etiology. Results are displayed graphically by way of a computer-generated interactive tool and represent different trajectories of individual-level changes in life satisfaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IGC methodology allows researchers and clinicians to anticipate patient-specific trajectories through use of an automated interactive tool. Projected trajectories hold promise in facilitating planning for inpatient and outpatient services, which could enhance long-term outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Craig Hospital, Englewood, CO; Traumatic Brain Injury National Data and Statistical Center, Englewood, CO. Electronic address: Christopher_pretz@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Christopher R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Pretz
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Allan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kozlowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
authors.forename: Yuying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Craig Hospital, Englewood, CO.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Charlifue
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Allen W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Heinemann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices
keywords: Longitudinal studies; Quality of life; Rehabilitation; Spinal cord injuries