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Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Exploring the Use of Isolated Expressions and Film Clips to Evaluate Emotion Recognition by People with Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: May 15, 2016
Exploring the use of social comparison by individuals recovering from traumatic brain injury
Patricia M Arenth1, John D Corrigan, Lyle D Schmidt
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. arenthpm@upmc.edu
Objective:
To explore if and how individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) use social comparison during adjustment to disability. It was hypothesized that comparison activity may change with time since injury.
Methods:
Fifty-eight participants with TBI were surveyed within 1 or 6 months of discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. Group responses to instruments measuring social comparison and other measures of emotional and physical functioning were compared.
Results:
Both groups expressed a need for social comparison at a rate comparable to non-clinical populations. The group surveyed at 6 months expressed a greater need for social comparison and scored lower on a measure of mental health, as compared to the group surveyed earlier.
Conclusions:
Individuals with TBI appear to successfully use social comparison, at least early in recovery, with a possible reduction in effectiveness of use with increased time from injury. Possible mediating factors and implications for adjustment and future study are discussed.
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