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Background: Mounting empirical evidence suggests that, compared to women without disabilities, women with disabilities are more likely to experience interpersonal violence (IPV). However, there is extremely limited research attention on IPV against women with spinal cord injury (SCI), a particularly understudied and underserved population., Objectives: To conduct the first known examination of lifetime IPV experience in women with SCI, to explore demographic and disability-related correlates of IPV, and to examine the health impacts of IPV., Methods: The sample included 175 women with traumatic SCI from across the United States who enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of an online psychological health promotion intervention. The data, which included a brief measure of lifetime abuse, were collected as part of the baseline survey administered prior to randomization to the intervention or control conditions., Results: The majority (55%) of the women described experiencing some abuse in their lifetime, with 43% reporting physical abuse, 32% reporting sexual abuse, and 23% reporting disability-related abuse. Sixteen percent of the women indicated that they had experienced all three (physical, sexual, disability) types of abuse. Few demographic and disability characteristics were related to overall lifetime IPV experience; however, disability characteristics were associated with disability-related IPV victimization. In addition, those with a history of IPV had poorer self-reported health and greater depression., Conclusion: This study suggests that IPV is common among women with SCI. More research is needed to understand the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of IPV against women with SCI to help inform policy and practice., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest The authors report no conflicts of interest., (©2023 American Spinal Injury Association.)

Background: The Capabilities of Upper Extremity Test (CUE-T) is a spinal cord injury (SCI)-specific instrument based on the CUE Questionnaire (CUE-Q). Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of CUE-T in children with cervical SCI and determine the lowest age appropriate for test administration. Method: In this repeated measures multicenter study, 39 youths, mean age 12.3 years and mean time post injury 5.14 years, completed two administrations of the CUE-T. Test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and known groups validity were measured. Concurrent and discriminant validity were measured against previously validated measures: CUE-Q, Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength, Sensibility and Prehension (GRASSP), Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM) III, SCIM III-Self Care (SCIM-SC), and SCIM-Mobility. Results: The CUE-T scores demonstrated strong test-retest reliability (ICC ≥ 0.95), strong internal consistency (α ≥ 0.90), and acceptable individual item agreement (κ ≥ 0.49). The hand subscale had better scores ( p < .05) for the motor incomplete versus complete known groups, and the arm, hand, and side subscales had better scores ( p < .05) for higher versus lower strength groups. The CUE-T had strong concurrent validity with the CUE-Q ( r = 0.85-0.87), GRASSP ( r = 0.78-0.90), and SCIM-SC ( r = 0.70) and moderate-to-weak correlation with the total SCIM ( r = 0.65) and SCIM-Mobility ( r = 0.51). Children older than 6 years with mature grasp patterns were able to complete the CUE-T. Conclusion: The CUE-T scores are reliable and valid for use in children with cervical SCI older than 6 years of age., Competing Interests: This study was funded by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Spinal Cord Injury Research on the Translation Spectrum, Senior Research Award #282592. Dr. Mulcahey reports grants from Shriners Hospitals for Children, National Institute for Neurological Diseases and Stroke, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, and The Rick Hansen Institute during the conduct of the study; personal fees from Topics in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, from the textbook The Child and Young Adult with Spinal Cord Injury, from Department of Defense, and from Craig H. Neilsen Foundation outside the submitted work. Ms. Calhoun Thielen reports a portion of her salary was paid by grants issued to Thomas Jefferson University by Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital was a subaward recipient of the Neilsen Foundation grant #282592 awarded to Principal Investigator MJ Mulcahey. Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation is also the current recipient of two other Neilsen Foundation grants that are not related to this study. The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Thomas Jefferson University receive payment for preparation and supply of CUE-T test kits if these are provided by the Department. Dr. Marino reports grants from Craig H. Neilsen Foundation during the conduct of the study. Ms. Dent reports grants and nonfinancial support from Thomas Jefferson University during the conduct of the study.

Background: Research has documented high rates of depression in people with spinal cord injury (SCI); however, most SCI research is conducted with predominantly male study participants. Additional research is needed on depression and depression treatment among women with SCI., Objective: Study objectives were to examine depression, correlates of depression, and depression treatment in a sample of women with SCI., Methods: The sample included 51 ethnically and racially diverse women with SCI who participated in a larger study on secondary conditions of women with diverse physical disabilities. Recruited through health clinics and community organizations in a large metropolitan area, participants completed structured interviews that included demographic and disability characteristics and measures of health and health care utilization., Results: Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) indicated that 41% of the women had depressive symptomatology in the mild to severe range. BDI-II scores were significantly related to more severe secondary conditions, greater pain, and poorer health perceptions but not to demographic or disability variables. Nearly a third (n = 16) of the women had scores exceeding the standard cutoff for significant clinical depressive symptomatology, yet only 5 of those had received any treatment for depression in the past 3 months and only 1 had received counseling or psychotherapy. Lifelong depression treatment showed a similar pattern of predominantly pharmacologic treatment., Conclusion: Depression is a common problem for women with SCI, and many do not receive treatment, particularly psychological treatment. Disability-sensitive and affordable depression treatment must be made available to women with SCI.