Associations between disability-management self-efficacy, participation and life satisfaction in people with long-standing spinal cord injury

Objectives: To study disability-management self-efficacy (DMSE) and its correlates in a large sample of Dutch people with long-standing spinal cord injury (SCI). DMSE is the confidence that people with SCI may have in their ability to manage the consequences of their condition with respect to the various domains in their life. Research questions were: (1) What is the level of DMSE in Dutch people with long-standing SCI?; (2) Is DMSE associated with demographic and lesion characteristics?; and (3) Is DMSE associated with participation and life satisfaction if these associations are adjusted for demographic and lesion characteristics and mood?Methods: Eligible people were identified from all eight rehabilitation centers with a specialty in SCI rehabilitation in the Netherlands (N=261). Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. DMSE was measured using the University of Washington Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (UW-SES-6). Correlation and linear regression analyses were used.Results: Levels of UW-SES-6 scores were largely independent of demographic and lesion characteristics. UW-SES-6 scores were bivariately moderately to strongly associated with mood (0.47), participation (0.39-0.51) and life satisfaction (0.46). In the regression analyses, UW-SES-6 scores still explained a significant amount of variance of participation (standardized beta 0.31-0.33) and life satisfaction (standardized beta 0.21) when controlling for demographic and lesion characteristics and mood, and explained an additional 3.2-8.1% of the variance of participation and life satisfaction.Conclusion: DMSE is a psychological resource associated with higher levels of participation and life satisfaction after SCI. The UW-SES-6 is a brief and easy to use measure of this psychological resource.