Abstract
A survey of the marital and sexual adjustment of World War II spinal cord injured veterans was undertaken at the Spinal Cord Injury Outpatient Clinic at the VA Medical Center, Sepulveda, California. A questionnaire containing 42 questions was sent to 40 of these veterans who had survived more than 40 years after their injuries. Fifteen of the questionnaires were completed, with the results categorised in three areas: Demographic information, medical information, and marital and sexual information. A third of the subjects were quadriplegics, 66.7% were paraplegics. Seventy eight per cent of the couples were of the same age group. Eighty per cent were married after their injury; 73.4% were married to their original spouse. Two thirds of the SCI veterans fathered children. Of the fathers, 70% fathered children after their injury. Seventy five per cent of the veterans and 50% of their wives had education beyond high school. Forty per cent of the subjects used foley catheters, and 53.3% reported symptoms of spasticity. Eighty per cent used alcohol socially and 20% used tobacco. 4&7% rated sex as unimportant in their lives, yet many reported that their sexual lives were unsatisfactory. Sex was not openly discussed with their spouses although 55% reported excellent communication with their wives and 70% reported spending their leisure time with their wives. A significant response was the 86.6% of the subjects recommended marriage as a way of life for persons having a new spinal cord injury.
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Nikas, V., Fleischman, P. & Burton, P. Sexual and marital adjustment of World War II spinal cord injured veterans. Spinal Cord 28, 164–171 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1990.21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1990.21
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