Personality Disorder Characteristics and Adjustment Following Spinal Cord Injury

Persons with personality disorders exhibit many health-compromising behaviors including impulsivity, poor social judgment, interpersonal turmoil, and maladaptive coping strategies. These behaviors are often observed among some persons who incur spinal cord injuries (SCIs); such behaviors are also suspected in the development of psychological problems and pressures sores. We conducted two studies to examine these issues. In the first study, we studied the rate at which personality disorder characteristics were observed among persons recuperating from surgical repair of a severe pressure sore and the rate of these characteristics among persons with recent-onset SCI. In the second study, we examined the relation of personality disorder characteristics to emotional adjustment and pressure sore occurrence among persons with recent-onset SCI. Our findings suggest that these personality characteristics may be observed among many persons with SCI, but they may not be uniquely predictive of pressure sore development.