Perceived Vulnerability to Disability-Related Victimization in People With Multiple Sclerosis: Community Survey on Risk and Protective Factors.

Background: The perception that one is at increased risk of interpersonal victimization or violence can deleteriously affect community participation and quality of life. Race, sex, and disability status, often associated with use of an assistive mobility device (AD), are known correlates of perceived risk of victimization; however, almost no research has explored how these variables intersect for individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), and none have sought to identify potential risk and protective factors.

Methods: Data for the present study come from a single time point derived from a 10-year longitudinal survey of 446 individuals with MS.

A Shift in Approach: Assessment and Treatment of Adults With Functional Neurological Disorder.

Functional neurological disorder (FND) is a complex condition involving an interaction of psychological, physiological, and social factors. Despite high utilization of medical services, people with FND often suffer from poor long-term health and psychosocial outcomes, and experience stigmatization and marginalization within the medical community. Health service psychologists are well positioned to help patients with FND through the lens of the biopsychosocial model of health.

Intensive rehabilitation for functional motor disorders (FMD) in the United States: A review.

Background: Higher levels of care in the form of intensive rehabilitation may be appropriate for select patients with a diagnosis of functional motor disorder (FMD). Intensive rehabilitation, as delivered through an outpatient day program or through admission to an inpatient rehabilitation facility, can offer a greater frequency and variety of integrated clinical services than most lower levels of care.

Objective: Higher levels of rehabilitation for FMD have not yet been well characterized in the literature.

The association between medication use and cognitive performance in people with SCI.

Purpose/objective: Polypharmacy is common in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Given the high rates of medication use, and the complicated side effect profile of many of the medications that are regularly prescribed in people with SCI, we were interested in the association between the use of different classes of medications and cognitive function in these individuals. Research Method/Design: One-hundred and 73 people with SCI participated in an observational study.

How Do Fluctuations in Pain, Fatigue, Anxiety, Depressed Mood, and Perceived Cognitive Function Relate to Same-Day Social Participation in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury?

Objective: This study aimed to examine same-day associations of pain, fatigue, depressed mood, anxiety, and perceived cognitive function with social participation in the daily lives of adults with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Observational study used a combination of baseline surveys and 7 end-of-day (EOD) diaries.

Setting: General community.

Daily Variation in Sleep Quality is Associated With Health-Related Quality of Life in People With Spinal Cord Injury.

Objective: Although sleep difficulties are common after spinal cord injury (SCI), little is known about how day-to-day fluctuations in sleep quality affects health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among these individuals. We examined the effect of sleep quality on same-day HRQOL using ecological momentary assessment methods over a 7-day period.

Design: Repeated-measures study involving 7 days of home monitoring; participants completed HRQOL measures each night and ecological momentary assessment ratings 3 times throughout the day; multilevel models were used to analyze data.

Effects of hypnosis, cognitive therapy, hypnotic cognitive therapy, and pain education in adults with chronic pain: a randomized clinical trial.

Chronic pain is a significant health problem worldwide with limited pharmacological treatment options. This study evaluated the relative efficacy of 4 treatment sessions each of 4 nonpharmacological treatments: (1) hypnotic cognitive therapy (using hypnosis to alter the meaning of pain); (2) standard cognitive therapy; (3) hypnosis focused on pain reduction, and (4) pain education. One hundred seventy-three individuals with chronic pain were randomly assigned to receive 4 sessions of 1 of the 4 treatments.

The impact of stroke on psychological and physical function outcomes in people with long-term physical disability.

Background: An increased number of people who have a long-term physical disability (LTPD) are aging. Similar to older adults without previous disability, individuals with LTPD may experience age-related comorbidities secondary to aging. A leading cause of disability in the United States among older adults is stroke.

Development of a resilience item bank and short forms.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a publicly available, psychometrically sound item bank and short forms for measuring resilience in any population, but especially resilience in individuals with chronic medical conditions or long-term disability.

Research Methods: A panel of 9 experts including disability researchers, clinical psychologists, and health outcomes researchers developed a definition of resilience that guided item development. The rigorous methodology used focus groups, cognitive interviews, and modern psychometric theory quantitative methods, including item response theory (IRT).

Relationship Between Fear of Falling and Physical Activity in People Aging With a Disability.

Background: An estimated one billion people worldwide live with some form of disability and may face many challenges as they age, including increased fall risk. Understanding the risk factors linking falls, fear of falling, and activity restriction is critical for developing effective programs to increase activity levels among persons with disabilities.

Objectives: To determine if differences exist in the level of physical activity in people with different types of conditions associated with disability and to investigate if fear of falling is associated with physical activity in individuals who are aging with a long-term disability.

Goal Pursuit, Goal Adjustment, and Pain in Middle-Aged Adults Aging With Physical Disability.

Aging with physical disability disrupts one's ability to achieve valued goals due to changes in symptoms and function. It is unclear how to cope optimally in this context. This study examined whether two possible strategies-tenacious goal pursuit (TGP) and flexible goal adjustment (FGA)-were associated with reduced pain interference and depressive symptoms and greater well-being, and protected against pain intensity, and FGA was more protective with increasing age and worse physical function.

Aging With Disability: Populations, Programs, and the New Paradigm An Introduction to the Special Issue.

The purpose of this article is to introduce a special issue dedicated to research at the intersection of aging and disability. We provide some context for the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration among aging and disability researchers and summarize the nine articles in this issue. Articles in the special issue are centered around several overarching themes.

Assessing Perceived Success in Valued Living in Individuals With Long-Term Physical Health Conditions.

To evaluate the reliability and validity of a brief measure of successful aging in a sample of adults with long-term health conditions. : The brief (eight-item) version of the valued living scale (VLS) and measures of pain intensity, pain interference, and depression were administered to 1,457 adults aging with one of four long-term health conditions. : Analyses indicated that the VLS items assessed two types of valued living domains: (a) a social and relational domain and (b) a health and productivity domain.

Pilot intervention to promote tolerance for uncertainty in early multiple sclerosis.

Purpose/objective: The ability to tolerate uncertainty about the future may be foundational to positive psychological adjustment. Conversely, intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been shown to be a vulnerability factor for anxiety and depression. One stressor with a very high degree of uncertainty about the future is a new diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Secondary health conditions and social role satisfaction in adults with long-term physical disability.

Objective: Individuals living with physical disability due to early acquired or traumatic conditions often experience a range of psychological and physical health problems that are associated with their condition but are not directly caused by it. Known as "secondary health conditions," these problems can interact with existing functional limitations and other medical comorbidities to limit social participation. The current study assessed the concurrent and longitudinal associations between secondary health conditions, chronic medical comorbidities, and functional limitations, with a PROMIS® measure of social role participation.

Associations among decisional autonomy, fatigue, pain, and well-being in long-term physical disability.

Objective: Decisional autonomy-or sense of one's ability to make independent choices about one's life-is especially relevant to individuals who may feel their autonomy is limited due to physical challenges. Past work has found associations between measures of autonomy and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with disability and in older adults. However, it is less clear how autonomy influences the impact of pain and fatigue severity on QoL, especially in adults aging with physical disability.

Impact of secondary health conditions on social role participation for a long-term physical disability cohort.

For people living with long-term physical disability (LTPD) social participation may involve managing physical impairments and secondary health conditions (SHCs) that are not due to the pathophysiology of the LTPD diagnosis itself. Prior research found a negative relationship between SHCs and participation in social roles in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). We expand on this research by investigating the influence of SHCs on participation in social roles for people with one of four LTPDs, controlling for co-variates.

Identification of targets for improving access to care in persons with long term physical disabilities.

Background: People with long-term physical disability (LTPD) continue to experience difficulties in accessing health care despite the focus of highlighting disparities in the last two decades.

Objectives: To describe health care utilization, accommodations and barriers experienced while accessing health care, and reasons why individuals delay or skip health care among people with LTPD.

Methods: The current study was a part of a larger longitudinal survey administered to individuals with physical disability associated with one of four long-term conditions (MS; SCI; PPS; MD).

Personal resource profiles of individuals with chronic pain: Sociodemographic and pain interference differences.

Purpose/objective: Previous studies have demonstrated important associations between personal resources and pain interference. Using latent profile analysis, the present study (a) identified subgroups of individuals with chronic pain who have different personal resource profiles; (b) explored sociodemographic differences among subgroups; and (c) examined how these subgroups differ in pain interference. Research Method/Design: Study 1 is based on daily diary and survey data from 220 individuals with fibromyalgia (FM).

Changes in perceived social support predict changes in depressive symptoms in adults with physical disability.

Background: Perceived social support has been found to be associated with depression, subjective well-being and psychological health in cross-sectional studies in people with physical disabilities. No longitudinal studies have been conducted to examine these associations over time using a comprehensive measure of social support.

Objective/hypothesis: We hypothesized that: (1) the amount of perceived social support would be similar across individuals with different diagnoses often associated with disability (i.

Sex/gender disparities in health outcomes of individuals with long-term disabling conditions.

Background: Women with disabling conditions experience health disparities relative to nondisabled women, but few studies have compared women and men with disabling conditions.

Objectives: To investigate gender differences in physical functioning and emotional health among individuals with long-term disabling conditions, that is, neuromuscular disease, multiple sclerosis, postpolio syndrome, or spinal cord injury.

Method: From a mailed survey of 1,862 adults with long-term disabling conditions, we used the 12-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) physical functioning to assess physical limitations in activities and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for emotional health and severity of secondary conditions (rated 0-10).

Promoting resilience in individuals aging with multiple sclerosis: Results from a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Purpose/objective: Starting in middle adulthood, individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS) are confronted with the simultaneous challenge of coping with advancing MS alongside age-related changes. Psychological resilience is thought to play an important role in promoting healthy aging and thus may be important in the context of aging with MS. This study aimed to evaluate whether Everyday Matters, a novel positive psychology program, had a positive effect on resilience and other related outcomes in adults with MS relative to a wait-list control group.

Frequency and impact of midlife stressors among men and women with physical disability.

Middle-age may be a challenging time for people with physical disabilities as life demands, secondary symptoms such as fatigue, and risk for depression increase, yet little is known about types, levels, and impact of life stressors in individuals aging with disability. Our aims were to describe aging- and disability-associated life stressors, explore gender differences, and evaluate effects of resilience on adjustment to these stressors. Longitudinal data analysis of self-report surveys completed by 541 middle-aged community-dwelling participants with long-term physical disability from baseline to 5-year follow-up.