ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study design involving completion of self-report measures. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between perceived injustice, post-traumatic stress symptoms and depression in a sample of individuals receiving inpatient rehabilitation care following hospitalization for acute spinal cord injury (SCI), as well as the mediating role of anger variables. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation program in a large urban city in the Southwestern United States. METHODS: A sample of 53 participants with an average of 204.51 days (s.d.=410.67, median=56) post injury occurrence completed measures of perceived injustice, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms as well as measures of trait anger, state anger, anger inhibition and anger expression. RESULTS: Perceived injustice was significantly correlated with depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms, and accounted for unique variance in depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms when controlling for demographic and injury-related variables. Anger inhibition was found to mediate the relationship between perceived injustice and depression. Trait anger and anger expression were found to mediate the relationship between perceived injustice and post-traumatic stress symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with previous research, perceived injustice was associated with greater depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The results support previous findings that anger inhibition mediates between perceived injustice and depression, and provides novel findings regarding mediation of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Results provide preliminary evidence for the role of perceived injustice in SCI and potential mechanisms by which it may exert its effects.
Subject(s)
Anger , Perception , Spinal Cord Injuries/psychology , Adult , Aged , Cross-Sectional Studies , Depression , Female , Humans , Inpatients/psychology , Male , Middle Aged , Pain/etiology , Personality , Self Report , Spinal Cord Injuries/complications , Spinal Cord Injuries/rehabilitation , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/etiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to compare the noise levels in 4 Phoenix-area emergency departments with published safety and comfort standards for noise levels. METHODS: A device used to record sound levels was placed in the nurses' station of 4 Phoenix-area emergency departments for brief periods. Readings were compared with published safety and comfort standards. RESULTS: Noise levels measured in the 4 emergency departments were higher than levels at which one can work comfortably. All the noise levels measured approached or exceeded levels that can cause feelings of annoyance ad other negative effects in individuals. DISCUSSION: A comparison of actual noise levels in 4 local emergency departments with published safety and comfort standards found that 100% of the tested departments were too noisy. Anyone who spends any time exposed to this level of noise is subject to deleterious physical and psychological effects.
