Affiliations: [a] Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA | [b] Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA | [c] Universidad Surcolombiana, Neiva, Colombia | [d] IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla, Ph.D., IKERBASQUE Research Professor, Department of
Psychology, University of Deusto, IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain. Tel.: +34 94 413 90
03/3261; jcarango@deusto.es
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To date, no research has been published on the health related quality of life (HRQOL) and mental health of children with spinal cord injury and disorders (SCI/D) in Latin America, although limited previous research in Western countries has demonstrated the debilitating and chronic nature of these conditions in children. The aim was to examine the connections between HRQOL and mental health in children with SCI/D from Neiva, Colombia. STUDY DESIGN: Thirty children (8– 17 years) were recruited from the Hospital Universatario Hernando Mocaleano Perdomo in Neiva, Colombia. Participants completed self-report measures administered verbally by trained research staff. RESULTS: A correlation matrix generally suggested that higher HRQOL was robustly associated with better mental health. A series of multiple regressions found that HRQOL explained 50.5% of the variance in children’s depression, 31.5% of the variance in worry, and 41.9% of the variance in social anxiety. Within these regressions, emotional and social functioning were uniquely associated with depression, and emotional functioning was uniquely associated with social anxiety. CONCLUSION: This is the first published study to examine psychosocial outcomes in children with SCI/D in Latin America, and its findings suggest that future research and interventions for children with SCI/D in Colombia – and possibly in other regions of Latin America – would benefit from emphasizing emotional and social functioning.
Keywords: Child SCI/D, Latin America, HRQOL, anxiety, depression
