Objective To conduct a current status survey of paraplegics caused by work injury and explore the impact of interpersonal sensitivity and attachment anxiety on post-traumatic growth, aiming to promote patient rehabilitation.

Methods From March 2023 to April 2024, 305 hospitalized paraplegics caused by work injury were surveyed using the Interpersonal Sensitivity subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), the Attachment Anxiety subscale of the Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory (ECR), and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0 software. A structural equation model was constructed using Mplus 8.3 software, and the mediating effect was tested using the bootstrap method.

Results A total of 300 valid questionnaires were collected, with a valid response rate of 98.4%. The mean total scores for interpersonal sensitivity among 300 paraplegics caused by work injury were (27.68 ± 7.12) points, for attachment anxiety were (69.05 ± 14.16) points, and for posttraumatic growth were (61.22 ± 18.50) points. Female patients and those with complete spinal cord injuries exhibited significantly higher interpersonal sensitivity scores than male patients and those with incomplete spinal cord injuries (both P < 0.05). Male patients had significantly higher attachment anxiety scores than female patients (P < 0.05). Patients with higher levels of education and higher average monthly family income also had higher posttraumatic growth scores (P < 0.05). Patients with incomplete injuries showed significantly higher posttraumatic growth scores than those with complete injuries (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed significant negative correlations between interpersonal sensitivity, attachment anxiety, and posttraumatic growth (r = -0.325, -0.462, both P < 0.01). Interpersonal sensitivity and attachment anxiety were positively correlated (r = 0.419, P < 0.01). Attachment anxiety partially mediated the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and posttraumatic growth, with a mediating effect value of -0.224, accounting for 40.6% of the total effect.

Conclusions The paraplegics caused by work injury had suboptimal levels of posttraumatic growth. Interpersonal sensitivity indirectly affected posttraumatic growth through attachment anxiety. Healthcare professionals should pay close attention to the interpersonal sensitivity of these patients and implement measures to alleviate their attachment anxiety, thereby promoting posttraumatic growth.