The Role of Self-Esteem on Vocational Rehabilitation of People with Spinal Cord Injury

Rehabilitation is the ongoing management of injuries and disabilities after an accident. It will help people to maximize the individuals` recovery through the relearning of skills or teaching of strategies to compensate for changed abilities. Self-esteem may be one major factor related to the manner in which people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) respond to rehabilitation. Following a short discussion on related concepts this article will report a study and conclude that, pertaining to vulnerabilities in self-esteem, the second year following SCI may be just as critical a time period as the initial one after the injury.  If replicated, this finding is of potential importance in the rehabilitation field. For example, the majority of psychological services are currently available at the acute stage of injury. People with SCI are most often discharged from hospital when they are physiologically stable and physically deemed ready for the discharge. It is precisely at this point, however, that people with new SCI may have many questions and concerns their new role in the community. The current study suggests that perhaps practitioners need to make a more concerted effort in dealing with the psychological effects of SCI when difficulties may arise in the community.