Psychol Inj Law, 2009 · DOI: 10.1007/s12207-009-9062-3 · Published: December 1, 2009
This study examines how age-related factors such as current age, age at the time of injury, and the length of time since the injury affect employment status in people with spinal cord injuries. The study found that current age and age at the time of injury were significant predictors of employment, even when considering other factors like pain, psychological well-being, and physical abilities. The research suggests that people between 45 and 54 years old were more likely to be employed compared to those between 55 and 64 years old, even after accounting for the biopsychosocial variables.
Services that assist individuals with SCI to maintain employment may be particularly important to provide when these individuals reach their early 50s.
Longitudinal designs are needed that assess intra-individual changes in employment and putatively important biopsychosocial variables over time.
There should also be an emphasis on collecting data on variables that might be expected to have an impact on retention of employment, as well as variables that lend themselves to intervention efforts (individual and/or social).