Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Systems Analysis of the Neuroinflammatory and Hemodynamic Response to Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: May 27, 2022
Awareness, emotional adjustment, and injury severity in postacute brain injury
James M Sawchyn1, Catherine A Mateer, J Braxton Suffield
1AT Malcolm and Associates, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. jsawchyn@island.net
Objective:
Relationships among awareness of deficits, injury severity, and emotional adjustment in patients with traumatic brain injury were explored.
Participants:
One hundred sixty-six individuals were referred for postacute neurocognitive assessment.
Design:
Retrospective file analysis identified injury severity, and data from the Patient Competency Rating Scale and Katz Adjustment Scale-Revised, utilizing self-ratings and significant others' ratings, were gathered.
Results:
Significant others described emotional adjustment difficulties, regardless of the severity of injury. A positive association was noted between patients' acknowledgment of neurobehavioral problems and ratings of their emotional adjustment.
Conclusions:
Severity of TBI appeared less important than emotional adjustment in the awareness of deficit; mildly injured patients were more likely to report neurobehavioral deficits than were moderately and severely injured patients, relative to the reports of significant others.
