Psychological evaluations of patients operated for idiopathic scoliosis by the Harrington method.

A study group of 204 patients operated for idiopathic scoliosis by the Harrington method at The Orthopedic Hospital of the Invalid Foundation (Orton) between 1970 and 1975 was studied to evaluate the integration of these patients into society regarding work outside the home, and to evaluate the patients' adaptation to their illness and factors relating to this adaptation. A brief intelligence test was also given. The mean age at the time of the first operation was 14 years, and at the time of follow-up it was 33 years. Eighty-four percent of the patients were female. The patients completed a questionnaire, which was also sent to an age and gender matched control group. The results show that these patients with idiopathic scoliosis appear to be predominantly content with their lives. These scoliosis patients tend to form families later in life than the controls, and have fewer and less satisfying sexual relationships than the controls. These scoliosis patients feel that their illness has mostly influenced their participation in work outside the home and their partaking in physical activities, but these influences were slight and also influenced by education. The studied patients had some fears about the heredity of their illness, but only those dissatisfied with their lives let it influence their childbearing.