Abstract

The psychological profiles of 17 paraplegic patients are described in relation to disability level. Patients with more severe lesions were more apprehensive (Factor 0, Cattell test), and placed more value upon activity as an ascetic experience. The high-activity group (wheelchair athletes) showed favourable differences from normal on three of Cattells 16 factors (B = intelligence, H = venturesome, and I = tough-minded). They also differed significantly from the moderate activity group on factor H. Intergroup differences for two other factors (C = emotionally stable, M = practical versus imaginative) were at the borderlines of significance. The attitudes of both disabled groups towards physical activity (Kenyon inventory) were much as in normals, except for a greater interest in vertigo and ascetic aspects of activity; the only possible attitudinal difference between the two categories of subjekt was a greater interest of the moderately active group in exercis as an aesthetic experience. The findings confirm the abnormal psychological profile of the paraplegic, but suggest that certain aspects of mood, attitude and body image can be boosted through an appropriate training programme. Verf.-Referat