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Objective: The use and quality of longitudinal research designs has increased over the past 2 decades, and new approaches for analyzing longitudinal data, including multilevel modeling (MLM) and latent growth modeling (LGM), have been developed. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the use of MLM and its advantages in analyzing longitudinal data. Research Method: Data from a sample of individuals with intra-articular fractures of the lower extremity from the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Injury Control Research Center are analyzed using both SAS PROC MIXED and SPSS MIXED. Results: The authors begin their presentation with a discussion of data preparation for MLM analyses. The authors then provide example analyses of different growth models, including a simple linear growth model and a model with a time-invariant covariate, with interpretation for all the parameters in the models. Implications: More complicated growth models with different between- and within-individual covariance structures and nonlinear models are discussed. Finally, information related to MLM analysis, such as online resources, is provided at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We studied the predictive impact of family satisfaction, marital status, and functional impairment on the trajectories of life satisfaction over the first 5 years following medical treatment for traumatic spinal cord injury, bums, or interarticular fractures (total N = 662). It was anticipated that fewer functional impairments, being married, and greater family satisfaction would predict higher life satisfaction trajectories. Method: The Functional Independence Measure, the Family Satisfaction Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Index were administered 12, 24, 48, and 60 months postdischarge. Results: Trajectory modeling revealed that greater functional impairment significantly predicted lower life satisfaction, regardless of injury type. However, this association diminished when marital status and family satisfaction were entered into the models. Greater family satisfaction and being married predicted greater life satisfaction across time. Moreover, there was no evidence for increases in life satisfaction trajectories over time: Trajectories were stable across time for all injury groups. Conclusions: Results suggest that being married and greater family satisfaction promote life satisfaction among those who traumatically acquire disability, and these beneficial effects may be more salient than the degree of functional impairment imposed by the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Examined the influence of functional impairment, stable marital status, and family satisfaction on life satisfaction trajectories for 609 individuals (435 men, 174 women) over the first 5 years after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Measures: Participants completed the Family Satisfaction Scale (FSS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and the Life Satisfaction Index (LSI) at years 1, 2, 4, and 5 after sustaining a TBI. Results: Trajectory modeling revealed that higher family satisfaction was associated with increases in life satisfaction for individuals with less functional impairment. Stable marital status was not significantly associated with life satisfaction trajectories. Implications: Family satisfaction appears to have pronounced beneficial effects on life satisfaction for persons with less functional impairment after TBI regardless of marital status. In contrast, a stable marriage appears to have no apparent benefits to self-reported life satisfaction over the first 5 years post-TBI. Theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The trajectories of life satisfaction for 609 individuals who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) were studied. Hierarchical linear modeling analysis examined individual level growth trends over the first 5 years following TBI using gender, functional independence, age, and time to estimate life satisfaction trajectories. Measures: Participants completed the Functional Independence Measure and the Life Satisfaction Inventory at years 1, 2, 4, and 5 after sustaining TBI. Results: Participants who reported higher functional independence at year 1 also had higher life satisfaction at year 1. Participants with lower functional independence across the 5-year period had life satisfaction trajectories that decreased at significantly greater rates than the individuals with more functional independence. The life satisfaction trajectory declined for the sample, but participants reporting lower cognitive and motor functional independence had significantly greater declines in life satisfaction trajectories. Age and gender were not significant factors in predicting life satisfaction trajectories following TBI. Implications: Individuals with greater cognitive and motor impairments following TBI are likely to experience significant declines in life satisfaction within 5 years of living with TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]