Self-actualization and poststroke rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is influenced by the individual's abilities and resources and extent to which they are used. This study explored self-actualization (capacity to maximize use of one's abilities and resources) in 37 individuals attending in-patient rehabilitation following a stroke by (1) comparing the level of self-actualization of the participants to the level of self-actualization of 562 healthy community-dwelling individuals without stroke; (2) assessing changes in the level of self-actualization during rehabilitation (admission vs. discharge); and (3) exploring the relationships between self-actualization and changes in functional independence during rehabilitation, length of stay in the rehabilitation unit and change in living environment at discharge. Self-actualization was assessed with the measure of actualization of potential. The results showed that individuals with stroke had significantly lower self-actualization levels (P<0.001) than community-dwelling individuals without stroke. Self-actualization levels remained stable during rehabilitation (P=0.07). No significant relationships were found between self-actualization and changes in functional independence (P=0.36), length of stay (P=0.82) or change in living environment (P=0.65). This study suggests that many individuals with stroke are poorly actualized and self-actualization levels do not improve during rehabilitation. Further studies are needed to explore the relationship between self-actualization and other outcome measures in poststroke rehabilitation such as depressive symptoms or social participation.