Quantifying Personal Social Networks in Individuals With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: A Pilot Study

Individuals who sustain a traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) experience life-changing alterations in physiological and psychosocial function. Social connectivity has been shown to influence human health through direct biological and indirect psychosocial mechanisms in the general population. Robust personal social networks have been associated with improved health outcomes and quality of life.

This study aimed to describe personal social networks quantitatively in a national sample of individuals with TSCI and to explore measures of social connectivity in the context of community transportation resources and loneliness.

We recruited 28 adults with newly sustained TSCI from the inpatient rehabilitation setting at 4 SCI Model Systems sites and adapted the Personal Social Network Survey (PERSNET), a quantitative personal social network assessment tool, to this population. We also collected relevant demographic and clinical information and measured loneliness.

Study participant networks reveal a broad range of social structures. Demographic and clinical characteristics reflected aggregate national data on TSCI. Living in geographic areas with greater access to transportation resources was not positively associated with social network size or density or lower loneliness at the time of injury.

This is the first study to map personal social networks quantitatively in individuals with TSCI and to examine personal social network size and density in the context of community transportation resources and loneliness. While our study proves that it is feasible to collect personal social network data in the TSCI population, further research must examine the mechanisms by which personal social networks and environmental factors influence health and well-being after SCI.