Subjective well-being after spinal cord injury: Relationship to gender, race–ethnicity, and chronologic age.

Compared subjective well-being (SWB) scores as a function of gender and race-ethnicity while controlling for differences in chronologic age among a sample of participants with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). A field study of 597 people, including an oversampling of women and racial-ethnic minorities, was conducted. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to compare SWB outcomes as a function of gender and race-ethnicity. SWB was measured by 2 global indexes and 7 factor scales of the revised Life Situation Questionnaire. Minority participants reported lower SWB than Caucasians on the Global Satisfaction index and on the Career Opportunities, Finances, and Living Circumstances scales. Men had lower scores than women on the Interpersonal Relations scale. Age was only modestly associated with SWB. The results suggest that rehabilitation professionals need to pay attention to gender, race-ethnicity, and age differences in response to SCI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)