Body cathexis among stroke survivors: a cross-sectional study

Background  Stroke results in functional dependence and poor quality of life. Body cathexis is a measure of one’s perceived body image. Stroke survivors often experience stress, anxiety, and disturbances in body image.

Objectives  The objective of the study was to explore the body cathexis of stroke survivors.

Materials and Methods  The cross-sectional survey was conducted at two rural community settings of Kozhikode district, Kerala. Using a purposive sampling, 151 stroke survivors were recruited.

Results  The mean age of the participants was 64.58 years. About 53.6% participants were males and majority of the participants had ischemic stroke (76.2%). About one-third of participants had moderately severe disability. Among the participants, the body cathexis scale (BCS) ranged from 176 to 202. The overall mean (standard deviation) BCS score was 190.09 (5.04). Satisfaction or dissatisfaction toward each body part was analyzed and found that significant areas of dissatisfaction were energy level (98%), wrist (88.1%), elimination (86.1%), fingers (76.2%), and arms (73.5%). The BCS scores compared with the sides of lesion, gender differences, and duration of stroke showed no significant differences in the mean (p>0.05).

Conclusions  Stroke survivors are found to experience disturbances in body image. Low energy level, poor functioning of upper extremities, and disturbed elimination patterns add primarily to body image disturbances. Body cathexis does not differ with side of lesion, gender differences, and duration of stroke.