Family functionality and coping strategies in people with spinal cord injury

Abstract

Objective

To analyze family functionality in view of coping strategies for people with spinal cord injury.

Methods

Cross-sectional study, developed in all 84 BHC in Campina Grande-PB, Brazil, in 2019. The population was composed of all 54 people with spinal cord injury registered in the Centers. A sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, the Coping Modes Scale (CMS) and the Family Apgar were applied. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds ratio (OR).

Results

It was found that most of them were men, over 40 years old, non-white, with a religion, education up to elementary school, without a partner, with children, family income between 1-2 minimum wages, paraplegics, with injury time between 2-15 years, level of complete neurological impairment and traumatic cause. As for coping strategies, the most used were religiosity/fantasy thinking (M=4.09) and focused on the problem (M=3.93). Families were functional in 72% of cases. The logistic model showed probability relationships of focus on emotion (OR=0.539) (factor 2) and social support (OR=1.997) (factor 4) with family functionality.

Conclusion

The greater the use of strategies focused on emotion and the problem, the lower the family functionality, and the greater the use of social support strategies, the greater the chance of having good functionality.

Family relations; Psychological adaptation; Spinal cord injuries; Disabled people