Social activity contributes independently to life satisfaction three years post stroke.

OBJECTIVE: To determine social activity and life satisfaction three years post stroke and to investigate the contribution of social activity to life satisfaction controlled for the influence of demographic, physical and cognitive disabilities and social support.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SUBJECTS: One hundred and sixty-five patients with a stroke. MAIN MEASURES: The Life Satisfaction questionnaire (LiSat-9), the Social Support List - Interaction (SSL-12-I), the Barthel Index, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Frenchay Activities Index.
RESULTS: In total, 165 stroke patients participated, of whom 112 (67.9%) reported that they were satisfied with life as a whole. Socially inactive patients were significantly less often satisfied (50%, n = 26) than socially moderately (74.4%, n = 64) and socially highly active (81.5%, n = 22) patients. Lowest satisfaction ratings were found for sexual life (40.6%, n = 58). The socially inactive group was most satisfied with their partner relationship (85.1%, n = 40), the moderately and highly socially active group with their self-care ability (87.2%, n = 75 and 96.3%, n = 26, respectively). ADL and social activity were moderately correlated with life satisfaction. Social activity was found to explain an additional variance of the LiSat-9 total score (6.9%) and overall life satisfaction item (5.2%) after controlling for demographic variables, social support, ADL and cognitive functioning.
CONCLUSIONS: Three years post stroke, many patients report ongoing dissatisfaction with various life domains. Social activity was related to life satisfaction.