Study design: This study was a cross-sectional, follow-up survey.
Objectives: To examine the role of importance of religion and spiritual coping on life satisfaction in adults with pediatric-onset spinal cord injury (SCI).
Setting: This study was carried out in a specialty hospital system.
Methods: Individuals who sustained an SCI before age 18 completed a structured telephone interview at ages 24-45. Demographic/medical questionnaires along with standardized measures were administered: Brief COPE, FIM, Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Satisfaction with Life (SWL) scales. Spirituality was measured with a question assessing importance of religion and using the spiritual coping domain of the Brief COPE.
Results: A total of 298 individuals (62% men; 56% with tetraplegia) participated in this study. Approximately half (141) of the participants reported that religion is 'important to very important' to them and 55% (163) used spiritual coping. Importance of religion and spiritual coping was significantly associated with older age (P<0.01), longer duration of injury (P<0.01) and higher SWL (P<0.05). Importance of religion was also related to higher SF-12 mental component (P<0.05). Spiritual coping was negatively associated with motor independence (P<0.05) and CHART occupation (P<0.05). Moreover, spiritual coping emerged as a predictor of SWL, whereas importance of religion did not.
Conclusion: Over half of the participants endorsed importance of religion and the use of spiritual coping. Spiritual coping, in particular, may serve a unique role in promoting SWL. Consequently, assessment of spirituality needs to become a standard part of care in the treatment of individuals with SCI and the use of spirituality-focused interventions to promote SWL should be explored.