Exploration of participation and personal factors post-stroke

Abstract

Background: Participation is a key outcome of successful rehabilitation. Further investigation is warranted to determine how personal factors influence participation experiences post-stroke. Personal factors are individual and complex and may include age, gender, character style, psychological assets, and other attributes of the individual. Understanding relationships between personal factors and participation may assist in refining therapeutic approaches to address individual needs post-stroke.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between participation outcomes and specific personal factors, including self-concept, attachment style, threat appraisal, and dispositional optimism.

Methods: Participants (n = 62) aged 24–96 years (M = 66.47; SD = 14.04) completed the Stroke Impact Scale Version 3.0 (SISv3), Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ), and measures of self-concept, attachment style, threat appraisal, dispositional optimism and depression, and demographic information. Spearman’s rank and Pearson’s correlation coefficients examined associations.

Results: Significant correlations (p < .05) were demonstrated between the CIQ and: age (r = −.39), gender (rs = .32), and the Head Injury Semantic Differential III (HISD-III) (rs = −.47). The SISv3 participation domain was significantly correlated (p < .01) with the HISD-III (rs = −.68), Relationships Questionnaire pre-occupied attachment style (rs = −.37), Appraisal of Threat and Avoidance Questionnaire appraisal (rs = −.53) and avoidance (rs = −.43), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (rs = −.40).

Conclusion/Discussion: Different participation measures demonstrated varied relationships with personal factors. People who were older and male were more likely to report low levels of participation with the CIQ, while pre-occupied attachment, threat appraisal and activity avoidance were correlated with low participation on the SISv3. The observed variances require further exploration and raise questions regarding participation measurement post-stroke.