Self-Awareness and Health-Related Quality of Life After Traumatic Brain Injury

Objective: To investigate the relations among self-awareness (SA), impaired SA, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants: One hundred forty-one adults hospitalized with TBI and their significant others from a cross-sectional multicenter study. Using Glasgow Coma Scale classification, 32 participants had severe injuries, 29 moderate, 44 mild, and 25 complicated mild TBI. Measures: Patient Competency Rating Scale for Neurorehabilitation; Short Form-36 Health Survey; Cognitive Quality of Life; Quality Of Life after Brain Injury; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Profile of Mood States; Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended. Method: Patient Competency Rating Scale for Neurorehabilitation ratings made by participants and their significant others were used to assess SA and discrepancies between the 2 ratings were used to define impaired SA. Results: Significant associations were identified between SA and HRQOL, anxiety, depression, and severity of injury. Participants with and without impaired SA differed in cognitive HRQOL and leisure activities. Using multiple regression, no direct predictors of SA were identified, although interaction effects were observed. Conclusion: After TBI, lower SA is associated with higher estimates of HRQOL, particularly in the cognitive domain. Although the associations are modest, the assessment of SA should play a role in the interpretation of reported HRQOL after TBI.