Fifty-three individuals with SCI who required assistance for bowel and bladder management were matched case for case on age, education, sex, race, and lesion level with 53 subjects with SCI and independent control of bowel and bladder. Outcome measures included the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART), and the SF-12. The dependent group reported significantly decreased satisfaction with life and greater overall handicap, particularly in the area of physical independence, mobility, and occupational functioning, and lower physical health, than the independent group. Dependent and independent individuals did not differ in mental health or in social integration and economic self-sufficiency, although independent individuals initiated more social contacts with strangers than dependent individuals.

Hicken BL, Putzke JD, Richards JS.
Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2001 Dec;80(12):916-22