Article

OBJECTIVES: To (1) examine a measure of loneliness and its correlates in people
with spinal cord injury (SCI) to enhance our understanding of loneliness, which
has received limited scientific study in the context of SCI;
and (2) conduct
preliminary analyses of the reliability and validity of the measure, including an
evaluation of the unique impact of loneliness on psychological health. DESIGN:
Cross-sectional. SETTING: Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems. PARTICIPANTS: People
with SCI (N=175) participating in Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems follow-up
interviews at 1 study site between April 2014 and June 2015. INTERVENTIONS: Not
applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The 3-item Loneliness Scale. RESULTS:
Examination of individual items showed that approximately 40% of the sample
reported that they felt they lacked companionship, felt left out, and felt
isolated from others either some of the time or often. Mean scores in our sample
were elevated compared with published data on middle-aged and older adults.
Results provided evidence of internal consistency, comparable to that reported in
the literature, and preliminary evidence of convergent and divergent validity.
Loneliness was related to psychological health even after controlling for
measures of demographics, disability, and social integration, suggesting that
loneliness captures more than just social isolation or social integration in
people with SCI. CONCLUSIONS: Loneliness, which may be more common among people
with SCI, is related to poorer psychological health. Given the serious physical
and psychological health consequences of loneliness documented in the general
literature, it is imperative that the experience of loneliness among people with
SCI be given serious and systematic attention in the literature as well as in
clinical practice.
CI - Copyright (c) 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS