Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T21:45:46.673Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Development of Self-Awareness and Relationship to Emotional Functioning During Early Community Reintegration After Traumatic Brain Injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Jennifer M. Fleming*
Affiliation:
The University of Queensland and Occupational Therapy Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital. j.fleming@uq.edu.au
Heidi T. Winnington
Affiliation:
Occupational Therapy Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Azaria J. McGillivray
Affiliation:
Occupational Therapy Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Boyana Ana Tatarevic
Affiliation:
Occupational Therapy Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Tamara L. Ownsworth
Affiliation:
Occupational Therapy Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital.
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr J. Fleming, Senior Research Fellow, Division of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD 4072.
Get access

Abstract

Impaired self-awareness may affect clients' emotional status, engagement in rehabilitation and community reintegration following traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-awareness, emotional distress and community integration in adults with TBI during the transition from hospital to the community. Thirty-four rehabilitation clients with TBI were assessed in the week before and 2 months after discharge home. Measures of self-awareness and emotional functioning were administered predischarge and repeated at follow-up along with a measure of community integration. Nonparametric tests were used to compare levels of self-awareness and emotional distress pre- and postdischarge, their interrelationships and association with community integration. Self-awareness significantly increased following discharge, and a trend towards increased depression was found. There were no consistent relationships found between level of self-awareness, emotional functioning, and community integration. The development of self-awareness in the immediate postdischarge phase suggests this is an important time for clinical interventions targeting compensation strategies and adjustment to disability.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)