Body Image in Patients With Spinal Cord Injury During Inpatient Rehabilitation

Abstract

Objectives: (1) To investigate the course of body image in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) during their first inpatient rehabilitation stay; and (2) to explore the association between demographic and injury-related variables and body image and the association between body image and psychological distress.

Design: Longitudinal inception cohort study.

Setting: Rehabilitation center.

Participants: Of the 210 people admitted for their first inpatient SCI rehabilitation program (between March 2011 and April 2015), 188 met the inclusion criteria. Of these, N=150 (80%) agreed to participate.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main outcome measure: The Body Experience Questionnaire was used to measure 2 dimensions of body image: alienation and harmony.

Results: Mean scores on the Body Experience Questionnaire alienation subscale decreased significantly during the rehabilitation program. Mean scores on the Body Experience Questionnaire harmony subscale did not increase significantly but showed a trend in the hypothesized direction. The 2 subscales showed weak correlations with demographic and injury-related variables. The 2 subscales together explained 16% and 14% of the variance of depression and anxiety, respectively, after correction for demographic and injury-related variables.

Conclusions: During participants' first inpatient rehabilitation stay after SCI, body image progressed toward a healthier state. Body image explains part of the variance in depression and anxiety, and the entire rehabilitation team should be targeting interventions to improve body image.

Keywords: Body image; Emotional adjustment; Rehabilitation; Spinal cord injuries.