Preinjury predictors of life satisfaction at 1 year after traumatic brain injury

To investigate the predictive value of preinjury factors for satisfaction with life (SWL) at 1-year posttraumatic brain injury (TBI).

Secondary analysis of prospective, longitudinal registry using data collected during inpatient rehabilitation and at 1-year post-TBI.

Fifteen specialized brain injury units providing acute rehabilitation care as part of the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS) program.

Community-dwelling persons (N=444) with moderate to severe TBI aged 16 to 64 years enrolled in the TBIMS program between October 2007 and October 2008 with 1-year follow-up data.

Not applicable.

Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS).

Hierarchical stepwise linear regression revealed that injury-related and demographic variables did not contribute significantly to the explained variance in SWLS scores. In contrast, the preinjury functioning (education, productivity/employment) and preinjury condition (psychiatric and substance use problems, severe sensory dysfunction, learning problems, prior TBI) blocks each contributed significantly to the explained variance in SWLS scores. Preinjury functioning accounted for 2.9% of the variance and preinjury conditions for 3.8%.

Although their contributions are small, preinjury functioning and preinjury conditions are important to consider in the prediction of SWL post-TBI. Educational level and history of psychiatric and other premorbid difficulties are particularly important for clinicians to consider when implementing or developing interventions for persons with moderate to severe TBI.