Affective Changes following Severe Head Injury as Perceived by Patients and Relatives

Abstract

This article investigates the differences in perceptions of affective changes, following severe head injury, by patients and relatives. Patients attending a specialist rehabilitation centre and a close relative were asked to complete a semantic differential rating scale of the patient's present self, past [premorbid] self and future self (Tyerman and Humphrey1). Both patients and relatives indicated that there were significant changes on a wide range of constructs as a result of the injury. Patients tended to see themselves in a more positive light than relative regarding present self. Both patients and relative anticipated a return to past [premorbid] self within a year. These apparent differences in perceptions of affective changes following severe head injury may have important implications for the amount of support and counselling which needs to be offered to the relative of the head-injury patient during rehabilitation.

Cognitive functioning ten years following traumatic brain injury and rehabilitation.

“…Consequently, some researchers use the reports of close others to document cognitive and behavioral changes. However, studies have shown that relatives' reports of impairments may also be influenced by emotional factors or by their exposure to relevant behaviors (Groom, Shaw, O'Connor, Howard & Pickens, 1998; McWilliams, 1991).…”

A Longitudinal Study of Self-Awareness: Functional Deficits Underestimated by Persons with Brain Injury

“…Some preliminary investigations were conducted in the current study to establish reliability estimates for the PCRS, and to determine if therapists and relatives rated persons with TEl differently on the scale. In the early stages post-injury, it is recognized that family members may be in a state of denial regarding the person's status (McWilliams, 1991;Zeigler, 1987). Therefore, during the period of hospitalization, staff members who work with the person on a daily basis may provide the most objective assessment of the person's functional status.…”

Occupational Therapy Assessment of Self-Awareness following Traumatic Brain Injury

“…The factors influencing the reliability of relatives' reports may include increased stress levels and fatigue, the personality type of the relative (McKinlay and Brooks 1984) and the length of time after TBI (Brooks and McKinlay 1983). For example, McWilliams (1991) stated that in the early stages after TBI, family members were commonly in a state of denial regarding the severity of their relative' s deficits, believing that their relative would make a full recovery and thus overestimating his or her functional abilities.…”