Psychosocial measures for clinical trials in spinal cord injury: Quality of life, depression, and anxiety

Abstract

Psychosocial measures including quality of life, depression, and anxiety are critical in assessing overall functioning of individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Unfortunately, there has been little agreement among researchers regarding which instruments most validly capture these constructs. The current article examines clinical trials focusing on psychosocial measures in SCI that have been conducted in the last several years. Because of the variety of instruments used in assessing psychosocial dimensions, comparisons drawn across clinical trials may be problematic. Strengths and shortcomings of several popular measures are described. © 2006 Thomas Land Publishers. Inc.