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The role of social support and social skills in people with spinal cord injury: a systematic review of the literature

The role of social support and social skills in people with spinal cord injury: a systematic review of the literature
The role of social support and social skills in people with spinal cord injury: a systematic review of the literature
Study design: Systematic literature review.

Objectives: To examine the current knowledge of how social support and social skills are associated with aspects of health, functioning and quality of life of persons living with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted. The literature search was carried out in Pubmed, PsycINFO, ERIC (Educational Resources Information Centre), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Embase and SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index). Publications were identified according to predefined eligibility criteria; study qualities were evaluated, study results extracted and a narrative synthesis was compiled.

Results: In all, 58 publications about social support and SCI were included. Social support was positively related to physical and mental health, pain, coping, adjustment and life satisfaction. Social skills were assessed in 11 studies: social problem solving (n=7), assertiveness (n=3), verbal communication (n=1) and self-monitoring (n=1) were examined. Effective problem-solving skills were related to better mental health outcomes, health prevention behavior and less secondary conditions. Assertiveness was related to higher depression in rehabilitation setting. Interventions targeted at social support or social skills were scarcely studied. Only one study examined the relationship between social skills and social support in SCI.

Conclusion: Social support is associated with better health and functioning in individuals with SCI. However, the full range of social skills has not yet been studied in people with SCI. Furthermore, the role of social skills in relation to social support, health and functioning remains unclear. Better understanding of social skills and social support in SCI could facilitate the development of targeted and effective interventions to enhance functioning of people with SCI.
1362-4393
94-106
Müller, R.
6524b971-59e6-4c83-868d-90dfc3c5b8b0
Peter, C.
15040cd6-bf0e-4e46-9fbf-3955f7333408
Cieza, A.
a0df25c5-ee2c-4580-82b3-d0a75591580e
Geyh, S.
dc073a71-f2cc-40af-94a5-dd520b858e5b
Müller, R.
6524b971-59e6-4c83-868d-90dfc3c5b8b0
Peter, C.
15040cd6-bf0e-4e46-9fbf-3955f7333408
Cieza, A.
a0df25c5-ee2c-4580-82b3-d0a75591580e
Geyh, S.
dc073a71-f2cc-40af-94a5-dd520b858e5b

Müller, R., Peter, C., Cieza, A. and Geyh, S. (2012) The role of social support and social skills in people with spinal cord injury: a systematic review of the literature. Spinal Cord, 50 (2), 94-106. (doi:10.1038/sc.2011.116). (PMID:22006079)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Study design: Systematic literature review.

Objectives: To examine the current knowledge of how social support and social skills are associated with aspects of health, functioning and quality of life of persons living with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted. The literature search was carried out in Pubmed, PsycINFO, ERIC (Educational Resources Information Centre), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), Embase and SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index). Publications were identified according to predefined eligibility criteria; study qualities were evaluated, study results extracted and a narrative synthesis was compiled.

Results: In all, 58 publications about social support and SCI were included. Social support was positively related to physical and mental health, pain, coping, adjustment and life satisfaction. Social skills were assessed in 11 studies: social problem solving (n=7), assertiveness (n=3), verbal communication (n=1) and self-monitoring (n=1) were examined. Effective problem-solving skills were related to better mental health outcomes, health prevention behavior and less secondary conditions. Assertiveness was related to higher depression in rehabilitation setting. Interventions targeted at social support or social skills were scarcely studied. Only one study examined the relationship between social skills and social support in SCI.

Conclusion: Social support is associated with better health and functioning in individuals with SCI. However, the full range of social skills has not yet been studied in people with SCI. Furthermore, the role of social skills in relation to social support, health and functioning remains unclear. Better understanding of social skills and social support in SCI could facilitate the development of targeted and effective interventions to enhance functioning of people with SCI.

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More information

Published date: February 2012
Organisations: Psychology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 340816
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/340816
ISSN: 1362-4393
PURE UUID: fbbc0d3d-1423-4ef9-921f-f55c2d614519

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Date deposited: 03 Jul 2012 12:25
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 11:30

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Contributors

Author: R. Müller
Author: C. Peter
Author: A. Cieza
Author: S. Geyh

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