Work has been carried out with adolescent scoliosis patients however to date there has been no psychological investigation of adult scoliosis patients in the UK. This study will attempt to address this knowledge gap. Detailed psychometric techniques will be employed in order to generate condition-specific data.

The main objectives of this study are to further the understanding of:

• the psychological impact of AIS
• the long-term effects of experiencing scoliosis in adolescence
• the extent to which patients vary their perception of the condition
• common characteristics in the perceptions of scoliosis patients as a group
• potential sources of psychopathological and/or maladaptive reactions to the condition