With advances in health care sciences, people with spinal cord injuries can now live to old age. Rehabilitation of the disabled is a dynamic process and should include not only attaining maximum function, but also receiving satisfaction with life in one's environment. Life satisfaction is thought to be the subjective part of quality of life, i.e., the feelings of the persons concerned about their functioning and circumstances. However, these feelings are influenced by self-esteem, the positive or negative attitude toward oneself, as well as life satisfaction and the effect of loneliness on self-esteem. Forty community-living adults with paraplegia from spinal cord injury from the metropolitan area of Athens responded to the Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Index. As expected, statistically significant correlations were obtained among self-esteem, life satisfaction, and loneliness. More specifically, the higher an individual's self-esteem: a) the higher the life satisfaction and b) the lower the feelings of loneliness experienced. Furthermore, there was a statistically negative relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction. Community mobility, architectural adaptations, and social support, as it is reflected through marital status and frequency of received visits, proved to be important factors in understanding loneliness, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Implications for rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord injuries are discussed.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.) Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
2.
AndersonC.J. (1997). Psychosocial and sexuality issues in pediatric spinal cord injury. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 3, 70–78.
3.
AndersonL.R., & Malikiosi-LoizosM. (1992). Reliability data for a Greek translation of the revised UCLA loneliness scale: Comparisons with data from the USA. Psychological Reports, 71, 665–666.
4.
BachJ.R., & TiltonM.C. (1994). Life satisfaction and well-being measures in ventilator assisted individuals with traumatic tetraplegia. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 75(6), 626–632.
5.
BlattS.J.LutharS.QuinlanD.M., & ZoharA.H. (1996). Levels of relatedness within the dependency factor of the Depressive Experiences-Questionnaire for Adolescents. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64(2), 52–71.
6.
BlattS.J.ZuroffD.C.QuilanD.M., & ZoharA.H. (1995). Subscales within the dependency factor of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64(2), 319–339.
7.
BowlbyJ. (1973). Attachment and loss. Vol. 2: Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books.
8.
BrageD.WoodwardJ., & MeredithW. (1993). Correlates of loneliness among midwestern adolescents. Adolescence, 28 (111), 685–693.
9.
Case-SmithJ.AllenA.S., & PrattP.N. (1996). Occupational therapy for children (3rd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
10.
CheckJ.V.P.PerlmanD., & MalamuthN.M. (1985). Loneliness and aggressive behavior. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2, 243–252.
11.
CreweN.M., & KrauseJ.S. (1990). An eleven-year follow up of adjustment to spinal cord injury. Rehabilitation and Psychology, 35, 205–210.
12.
CushmanL.A., & HassetJ. (1992). Spinal cord injury: 10 and 15 years later. Paraplegia, 30(10), 690–696.
13.
CutronaC.RussellD., & WallaceR.B. (1997). Loneliness and nursing home admissions among rural older adults. Psychology and Aging, 12, 574–589.
14.
DeckerS.D., & SchulzR. (1985). Correlates of life satisfaction and depression in middle-age and elderly spinal cord-injured persons. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 39(11), 740–745.
15.
DiamantL., & WindholzG. (1981). Loneliness in college students: Some theoretical, empirical, and therapeutic considerations. Journal of College Student Personel, 22, 515–522.
16.
DijkersM. (1997). Quality of life after spinal cord injury: A meta analysis of the effects of disablement components. Spinal Cord, 35(12), 829–840.
17.
DurkheimE. (1951). Suicide. New York: Basic Books.
18.
EvansR.L., & DingusC.M. (1989). Serving the vulnerable: Models for treatment of loneliness. In: HojatM. & CrandallR. (Eds.), Loneliness: Theory, research, and applications. Newburry Park, CA: Sage Publications.
19.
EvansR.L.SmithK.M.WeikhovenW.S.FoxH.R., & PritzlD.O. (1986). Cognitive telephone group therapy with physically disabled elderly persons. The Gerontologist, 26(1), 8–11.
FuhrerM.J. (1996). The subjective well-being of people with spinal cord injury: Relationships to impairment, disability, and handicap. Topics in Spinal Cord Rehabilitation, 1, 56–71.
22.
FuhrerM.J.RintalaD.H.HartK.A.ClearmanR., & YoungM.E. (1992). Relationships of life satisfaction to impairment, disability, and handicap among people with spinal cord injury living in the community. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 73(6), 552–557.
23.
HemphillB.J. (1982). The evaluative process in psychiatric occupational therapy. Thorofare, NJ: Slack Inc.
HunterK.I.LinnM.W., & HarrisR. (1981–1982). Characteristics of high and low self-esteem in the elderly. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 14(2), 117–126.
26.
JohnsonK.A., & KlaasS.J. (1997). Recreation issues and trends in pediatric spinal cord injury. Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, 3, 79–84.
27.
JonesW.H., & CarverM.D. (1991). Adjustment and coping implications of loneliness. In SnyderC.R. & ForsythD.R. (Eds.), Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective (pp. 395–415). New York: Persimmon Press.
28.
KielhofnerG. (1995). A model of human occupation: Theory and application (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
29.
KoumiI. (1994). Self-values and academic self-concept of Greek secondary school pupils. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Bristol.
30.
LynchJ.J. (1977). The broken heart: The medical consequences of loneliness. New York: Basic Books.
31.
Malikiosi-LoizosM., & AndersonL.R. (1994). Reliability of a Greek translation of the life satisfaction index. Psychological Reports, 74(3 pt.2), 1319–1322.
32.
McCollM.A., & RosenthalC.A. (1994). A model of resource needs of aging spinal cord injured men. Paraplegia, 32(4), 261–270.
33.
McCollM.A.StirlingP.WalkerJ.CoreyP., & WilkinsR. (1999). Expectations of independence and life satisfaction among ageing spinal cord injured adults. Disability and Rehabilitation, 21(5–6), 231–240.
34.
MijuskovicB. (1985). Loneliness. New York: Associated Faculty Press.
35.
NeugartenB.L.HavighurstR.J., & TobinS.S. (1961). The measurement of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 31, 134–143.
36.
NiemiT. (1979). Effect of loneliness on mortality after retirement. Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine, 7(2), 63–65.
37.
PeplauL.A.MiceliM., & MoraschB. (1982). Loneliness and self-evaluation. In PeplauL.A. & PerlanD. (Eds.), Loneliness: A source of current theory, research, and therapy (pp. 135–151). New York: Wiley-Interscience.
38.
PeplauL.A., & PerlmanD. (1979). Blueprint for a social psychological theory of loneliness. In CookM. & WilsonG. (Eds.), Love and attraction: An interpersonal conference (pp. 101–110). New York: Pergamon.
39.
PerlmanD., & PeplauL.A. (1982). Theoretical approaches to loneliness. In PeplauL.A. & PerlanD. (Eds.), Loneliness: Current theory, research, and therapy (pp. 123–134). New York: Wiley.
40.
PostM.W.M.de WitteL.P.van AsbeckF.W.A.van DijkA.J., & SchrijversA.J.P. (1998). Predictors of health status and life satisfaction in spinal cord. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 79, 395–401.
41.
RiggioR.E.ThrockmortonB., & DePaolaS. (1990). Social skills and self-esteem. Personality and Individual Differences, 11(8), 799–804.
42.
RookK.S. (1984). Promoting social bonding: Strategies for helping the lonely and socially isolated. American Psychologist, 39, 1389–1407.
43.
RosenbergM. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
44.
RosenbergM. (1979). Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books.
45.
RussellM.PeplauL.A., & CutronaC.E. (1980). The revised UCLA loneliness scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472–480.
46.
RussellM.PeplauL.A., & FergusonM.L. (1978). Developing a measure of loneliness. Journal of Personality Assessment, 42, 290–294.
47.
Salmela-AroK., & NurmiJ.E. (1996). Uncertainty and confidence in interpersonal projects: Consequences for relations and well-being. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 134(1), 109–122.
SiösteenA.LundquistC.BlomstrandC.SullivanL., & SullivanM. (1992). The quality of life of three functional spinal cord injury subgroups in a Swedish community. Paraplegia, 28(8), 476–488.
50.
StambrookM.MacBeathS.MooreA.D.PetersL.C.ZubeckE., & FriesenI.C. (1991). Social role functioning following spinal cord injury. Paraplegia, 29(5), 318–323.
51.
SullivanH.S. (1953). The interpersonal theory of psychiatry. New York: Norton.
52.
TzonichakiI.KleftarasG., & Malikiosi-LoizosM. (1998). Differences in loneliness among low, moderate, and high self-esteem young and older adults. WFOT Bulletin, 37, 30–37.
53.
UreyJ.R., & HeggelerS.W. (1987). Marital adjustment following spinal cord injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 68, 69–74.
54.
VogelL.C.KlaasS.J.LubickyJ.P., & AndersonC.J. (1998). Long-term outcomes and life satisfaction of adults who had pediatric spinal cord injuries. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 79(12), 1496–1503.
55.
WeissR.S. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
56.
WeissR.S. (1974). The provisions of social relationships. In RubinZ. (Ed.), Doing unto others: Joining, molding, conforming, helping, loving (pp. 17–26). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
57.
WeissR.S. (1989). Reflections on the present state of loneliness research. In HojatM. & CrandallR. (Eds.), Loneliness: Theory, research and applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
58.
WilsonD., & LavelleS. (1990). Loneliness and general psychological distress among Zimbabwean students. Journal of Social Psychology, 130(2), 273–275.
59.
World Health Organization. (1993). Manual of the international statistical classification of diseases, injuries and causes of death (10th revised ed.). Geneva: World Health Organization.
