Coping Flexibility as Predictor of Distress in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury

Examine whether coping flexibility at admission to first spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation was predictive of distress 1 year after discharge.

Longitudinal inception cohort study.

Rehabilitation center.

Of the 210 people admitted to their first inpatient SCI rehabilitation program, 188 met the inclusion criteria. n=150 (80%) agreed to participate; the data of participants (N=113) with a complete dataset were used in the statistical analysis.

Not applicable.

Coping flexibility was operationalized by (1) flexible goal adjustment (FGA) to given situational forces and constraints and (2) tenacious goal pursuit (TGP) as a way of actively adjusting circumstances to personal preference. The Assimilative-Accommodative Coping Scale was used to measure FGA and TGP. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess distress.

Scores on FGA and TGP measured at admission were negatively associated with the scales depression (r= -.33 and -.41, respectively) and anxiety (r= -.23 and -.30, respectively) 1 year after discharge. All demographic and injury-related variables at admission together explained a small percentage of the variance of depression and anxiety. FGA, TGP, and the interaction term together explained a significant additional 16% of the variance of depression and 10% of anxiety.

The tendency to pursue goals early postonset of the injury seems to have a protecting effect against distress 1 year after discharge. People with low TGP may experience protection against distress from high FGA.