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Psychological adjustment and marital satisfaction following head injury. Which critical personal characteristics
Marie Claude Blais1, Jean-Marie Boisvert
1Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada. Marie-Claude.Blais1@uqtr.ca
Unlabelled:
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE AND RESEARCH DESIGN: Using a correlational design, this study verifies the relationships between personal characteristics of individuals with TBI and their spouses and their level of psychological and marital adjustment.
Methods And Procedure:
Seventy individuals with TBI and their spouses in the post-acute rehabilitation phase completed self-report questionnaires assessing the predictive variables (coping and social problem-solving strategies; perceived communication skills) and the criteria variables of psychological and marital adjustment.
Main Outcomes And Results:
In the target group, the characteristics most strongly related to adjustment variables were an effective attitude towards problems, infrequent use of avoidance coping strategies, and a positive perception of one's spouse's communication skills. Individuals with TBI and their spouses report significantly lower scores on some of these personal characteristics, compared to those of a matched control group of 70 couples from the general population.
Conclusions:
Specific personal characteristics are critical for psychological and marital adjustment following TBI. This knowledge may be of relevance for detecting couples at risk for developing difficulties in the post-acute rehabilitation phase. Rehabilitation interventions targeting the personal characteristics identified as critical for the adjustment process could help to prevent these difficulties.
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