Life Satisfaction Among Persons with Spinal Cord Injuries

Journal of Rehabilitation, July-Sept, 2000 by Brent W. Chase, Thomas A. Cornille, R. William English

Persons using Internet access responded via the WWW page from the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. One hundred and forty-three (90.5%) of the participants identified the United States as their country of residence. Persons from 36 of the 50 states in United States returned questionnaires. Prior to combining samples from different countries, two tests were computed to investigate the potential impact of country affiliation upon the results. Mean comparisons of the interval scaled variables were computed by country affiliation. Using t-tests, no significant mean differences were found on the scores based upon country affiliation. Secondly, data from Canada and all other countries were combined and compared with the United States sample. Again using t-tests, no significant mean differences were found. The results of these tests were the basis for the decision to combine samples.

The respondents were predominantly Caucasian (n = 144, 91%). One hundred and twenty participants were male (76%) and 38 were female (24%). The mean age of the sample was 36 years. Seventy-three percent of the respondents were quadriplegic and 27% were paraplegic, with an average of 12 years since the time of the injury. Approximately 46% of the respondents had never married while 35% were currently married. Nineteen percent reported being separated, divorced or widowed. Thirteen percent of the sample had earned a college degree prior to their injury, whereas 46% had completed their college education since the time of injury. Seventy-eight persons (49%) were unemployed, 19 persons (12%) indicated working less than 20 hours per week, and 59 persons (37%) were working 20 hours or more each week.

Data Collection Procedures

Using the four formats (WWW, print, telephone interviews, e-text), persons with a spinal cord injury were invited to participate in this study. The invitation letter described the purpose of the study, inclusion criteria, questionnaire formats available, self-disclosure of the researcher's personal disability, toll-free phone number, and home page address. The letter was then sent via e-mail to five listservs related to disability, posted on a WWW bulletin board, and mailed to organizations focusing on spinal cord injuries and disabilities. The questionnaire that was posted on the WWW was available for six weeks. During that time, requests for participants in this study were e-mailed to various listservs on three occasions. To be as inclusive as possible, the letter requesting participation in this study was also mailed to all 10 Centers for Independent Living in the state of Florida and to 11 model Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centers throughout the United States.

Using the World Wide Web is quite appropriate for researchers seeking to target a specific population, such as persons with a spinal cord injury (Schmidt, 1997). The WWW allows any person with access to the Internet, regardless of severity of disability, the opportunity to independently and anonymously complete the questionnaire. The method employed for this study simplified the process for participants, particularly persons with quadriplegia, by removing barriers such as handling multiple pages of paper and the inconvenience of return mail. We have no data as to why most participants chose to complete the WWW form. Perhaps people chose to participate using the WWW format because they can view and answer the questions independently, anonymously, and at their convenience, without the hassle of shuffling papers, which is often difficult for persons with higher level spinal cord injuries.