Findings provide support for the resilience model and suggests characteristics of resilience "buffer" the perceptions of stress on depressive symptoms. The resilience model may be useful to guide clinical interventions designed to improve the mental health of individuals with SCI.

Objective: To provide an overview of structural equation modeling (SEM) using an example drawn from the rehabilitation psychology literature. Design: To illustrate the 5 steps in SEM (model specification, identification, estimation methods, interpretation of results, and model modification), an example is presented, with details on determining whether alternataive models result in a significant improvement to fit to the observed data. Data are from a sample of 274 people with spinal cord injury. Issues commonly encountered in preparing data for SEM analyses (e.g., missing data, nonnormality) are reviewed, as is the debate surrounding some aspects of SEM (e.g., acceptable sample size). Conclusion: SEM can be a powerful procedure for empirically representing complex and sophisticated theoretical models of interest to rehabilitation psychologists.

Parent carers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often report increased levels of stress, depression, and anxiety. Unmet parent carer mental health needs pose a significant risk to the psychological, physical, and social well-being of the parents of the child affected by ASD and jeopardize the adaptive functioning of the family as well as the potential of the child affected by ASD. This systematic review identifies key qualities of interventions supporting the mental health of parent carers and proposes practitioner-parent carer support guidelines. A search of four databases (Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Social Science Data) was conducted to identify studies that met the following criteria: (1) an intervention was delivered to parent carers of a child with ASD under the age of 18 years; (2) the research design allowed for a comparison on outcomes across groups; and (3) outcome measures of the parent carers’ mental health were used. A total of 23 studies met the inclusion criteria. A critical interpretive synthesis approach was used to produce an integrated conceptualization of the evidence. Findings suggest practitioner guidelines to support the mental health and wellbeing of parent carers should include addressing the parent’s self-perspective taking and skill for real time problem-solving.

Study design: Qualitative research design involving semi-structured focus groups. Objectives: To increase current understanding of how persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) define resilience and what factors contribute to their resilience or the resilience of others. Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation program in a large urban city in the Southwestern United States. Methods: A convenience sample of 28 participants (14 current patients; 14 former patients) participated in semi-structured focus groups led by the research investigators. Results: Through a constant comparative analysis of the data, six themes emerged in participants' responses regarding what they believed contributed to their own resilience in adapting to SCI. The six themes included psychological strength, social support, perspective, adaptive coping, spirituality or faith, and serving as a role model or inspiring others. Conclusion: Consistent with previous research findings, individuals with SCI identified positive thinking (for example, optimism, hope and positive attitude), perseverance and determination, and social support from friends and family as important contributors to their ability to adapt in spite of experiencing traumatic events that resulted in SCI. INTRODUCTIONTraumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) present serious public health and quality of life concerns. Costs associated with SCI are estimated at US$9.7 billion annually, with average yearly expenses per individual ranging from $508 904 to $1 044 197 in the first year following injury, and from $67 415 to $181 328 each subsequent year. 1 SCI can result from an array of issues that affect physical, psychological and social functioning, which is reflected in the high cost of health-related services. Individuals who acquire an SCI experience numerous associated and chronic conditions (for example, spasticity, heart disease) and secondary complications (for example, pressure sores, chronic pain). Depression is a significant secondary complication for B30% of individuals with SCI, which often impacts physical health. 2 In turn, depression has been associated with frequency of pressure sores, 3 urinary tract infections, spending more time in bed and longer hospital stays. 4 Given the interaction between psychological and physical health, an understanding of psychosocial functioning in the SCI population is essential. Despite an emphasis in the literature on less adaptive psychological outcomes following SCI, recent research shows that B60% of individuals who acquire SCI are not in fact depressed. 2 Recent research also demonstrates that many individuals with SCI report moderate to very high resilience and a strong sense of self-efficacy. 5 Recently, investigators have begun to explore the association between resilience and adaptation to traumatic injuries (and

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between various coping-related variables and the evaluation of self-worth and subjective well-being among persons with spinal cord injury. Positive coping variables included hope, proactive coping style, and sense of humor, whereas negative coping variables included perceptions of stress, dysfunctional attitudes, and catastrophizing. Evaluations of self-worth were determined by measures of self-esteem and acceptance of disability. Quality of life and life satisfaction were indicators of subjective well-being. The results of the study indicate that negative coping has a negative association with both positive self-worth and subjective well-being. Feelings of positive self-worth were found to be positively associated with subjective well-being. In addition, positive coping appears to influence subjective well-being positively by first increasing feelings of positive self-worth. The findings indicate that coping strategies play an important role in the psychosocial adjustment of individuals with disabilities, and subsequently, in their quality of life. The implications for counseling individuals with disabilities are discussed.