Article

OBJECTIVE: To examine self-awareness 5 years or more after traumatic brain injury
(TBI) and its relation to outcomes. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two adults with moderate
to severe TBI and significant other (SO) informants (family or close friend).
SETTING: Regional veterans medical center. MAIN MEASURES: TBI Follow-up
Interview, Community Integration Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and
Caregiver Burden Inventory. DESIGN: Five to 16 years after acute inpatient
rehabilitation, separate staff contacted and interviewed subjects and SOs.
Subject awareness was defined as inverse subject-SO discrepancy scores. RESULTS:
Subjects significantly underreported neurologic symptoms and overreported their
work and home functioning; their self-ratings of emotional distress and social
functioning did not differ from SO ratings. Employment was associated with
greater self-awareness of cognitive deficits, even after controlling for injury
severity. Subjects' life-satisfaction was associated with better self-reported
neurologic functioning, which frequently did not agree with SO ratings. Caregiver
burden was worse as SOs perceived subjects as having worse symptoms and poorer
work and social integration. CONCLUSIONS: Impaired self-awareness remains evident
more than 5 years after TBI. People with TBI are more likely to gain employment
when they are aware of their cognitive deficits and abilities. However,
subjective quality of life, for subjects and SOs, was related to their own
perception of the TBI outcomes.

Langue : ANGLAIS