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This study used a cross-sectional design to examine overall quality of life (QOL) and specific age-related tasks (e.g., dating, paid employment) among young adults with traumatic-onset spinal cord injury separated into four groups based on age (ages 18-22 years, 23-27 years) and injury duration (1-2 years, 5 or more years). The groups did not differ on demographic and medical characteristics. Overall QOL was primarily determined by injury duration such that those with longer time since injury reported higher levels of QOL. Analysis of specific tasks showed a combination of injury duration, age, and interaction effects.

Objective: To introduce a brief quantitative measure of cognitive orientation (to place, time, and situation) developed for daily use at bedside with rehabilitation inpatients. The Orientation Log (O-Log) is a 10-item scale that allows for partial credit based on responsiveness to logical, multiple-choice, or phonemic cueing. It is formatted for rapid visual analysis of orientation trends that can be used to evaluate pharmacologic and cognitive-behavioral interventions. Design: Descriptive study of the O-Log's reliability (interrater and internal consistency). Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation center affiliated with a large university medical school. Patients: Fifteen neurorehabilitation inpatients. Results: For individual items, Spearman rho interrater reliability coefficients ranged from .851 to 1.00. The interrater reliability of the total score was .993. O-Log internal consistency (coefficient alpha) was .922. Conclusions: The O-Log is a reliable and easily administered scale that promises to be a useful tool in monitoring cognitive recovery during rehabilitation.

A traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is accompanied by a documented moderate to severe head injury in significant numbers of SCI patients. In a previous study (Dowler et al., 1995), cognitive deficits were found in 41% of the SCI individuals who were studied with a chronic injury from a traumatic event. The present study investigated whether clinically useful subtypes of normal and impaired cognition could be identified in a chronic (M = 17 years postinjury) SCI sample using a cluster analysis of neuropsychological test performance. A battery of 16 neuropsychological tests was administered to 91 SCI patients and 75 control participants. Composite scores, reflecting performance in different cognitive domains, were derived from a factor analysis of the battery, and these scores were then used in the cluster analysis. A six-cluster solution generated the most distinct and clinically relevant SCI group profiles. Two of the cognitive profiles were characterized by normal functioning in all cognitive domains, but they were distinguished by differences in performance levels. The remaining four SCI groups (60% of the sample) showed clinically significant deficits in one or more cognitive domains, with different groups showing moderate attention and processing speed deficits, mild deficits in processing speed, executive processing difficulties, or moderate memory impairments. Though age and premorbid intellectual ability were strong predictors of the cognitive profiles of some SCI groups, when these factors were controlled, the findings suggested that the patterns of cognitive impairment were likely due to a potential concomitant head injury. (JINS, 1997, 3, 464–472.)

The aim of this study was (1) to examine demographic and medical predictors of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and (2) to provide a normative table for the SWLS that includes appropriate adjustments for the most important predictors of life satisfaction.We examined predictors of the SWLS including age, education, sex, race, injury duration, number of rehospitalizations, marital status, employment status, SCI etiology, and level of neurological impairment.Individuals in the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center database [from 18 SCI model systems (1995-1999)] undergoing follow-up assessment were included for study.Satisfaction With Life Scale.Univariate analyses indicated that marital and employment status, race, sex, education, and injury duration were significant factors associated with scores on the SWLS. In general, individuals who were female, white, married, and currently employed and had a higher education and longer injury duration reported significantly higher scores on the SWLS (P.01). Effect-size estimates for these factors ranged from 0.16 to 0.41. Regression analyses showed that education, employment status, and injury duration were the strongest unique predictors of satisfaction with life but accounted for only 10% of the variance.The SWLS is a global measure of life satisfaction and is relatively unrelated to demographic and medical characteristics. Normative tables are provided for epidemiologic comparison.

OBJECTIVE To establish the validity of the Orientation Log (O-Log) by comparison with the Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test (GOAT). DESIGN Correlation of daily measures of orientation. SETTING Acute rehabilitation hospital. SUBJECTS Sixty-eight inpatients receiving rehabilitation following traumatic brain injury (TBI). PRIMARY MEASURES The O-Log and GOAT. RESULTS There was a significant correlation between the GOAT and O-Log (r = .901, P