Community Integration of Women with Spinal Cord Injuries: An Examination of Psychological, Social, Vocational, and Environmental Factors

This study examines four aspects of community integration--relationships, productive occupation, personal and environmental resources, and psychological resources--to determine the extent to which women with spinal cord injury (SCI) are able to achieve the same levels of community integration as women without disabilities. Data were collected using a mailed questionnaire that was completed by 946 women with and without physical disabilities. A subsample of 120 women with SCI and 406 women without disabilities met the inclusion criteria. The impact of SCI on the community integration of women can be seen primarily in lower rates of employment, environmental barriers to socializing, and unmet needs for personal assistance services. There was no significant difference between the groups on measures of marital status, living arrangement, satisfaction with relationships with friends and family members, personal and household income, self-esteem, or perceived control. There is discussion of new perspectives on gender-sensitive models of community integration and the role of rehabilitation professionals in ensuring that clinical care is delivered in a gender-sensitive manner that empowers women to remove environmental barriers to their rehabilitation and community living goals.