Patterns and predictors of personal responsibility attributions after major trauma

External responsibility attributions after injury are associated with worse recovery. However, there remains limited understanding of who accepts personal responsibilityfor their injury and whether or how responsibility attributions change over time.

This prospective cohort study included patients who received care from recovery co-ordinators following serious injury and admission to a major trauma centre in Victoria, Australia (n=850). Self-reported personal responsibility attributions (totally, partially, not responsible, or did not know) were collected at three timepoints (admission, discharge, and six months post-injury) and linked to demographic, injury and clinical characteristics from the Victorian State Trauma Registry.

Mixed effects multinomial analyses revealed that female sex (adjusted relative risk ratio, aRRR=3.11-4.66) and compensable injury (aRRR=7.83-15.27) were associated with reporting lower personal responsibility relative to total responsibility. Falls and motorcyclists had decreased risk of reporting lower personal responsibility than non-drivers (motor vehicle/motorcycle passengers, cyclists and pedestrians) (aRRR=0.11-0.19). More than one-third of participants changed their personal responsibility attribution within six months post-injury. Kappa analyses revealed fair to moderate agreement between the three timepoints (kappa=0.38-0.59), and Stuart-Maxwell tests showed unidirectional bias towards reporting lower levels of personal responsibility between admission and discharge (p<0.001). No demographic, health or injury characteristics predicted a change in responsibility attributions in logistic regression analyses.

Personal responsibility attributions often change over time. Therefore, responsibility attributions should not be considered static, and attributions made at different times post-injury should not be used interchangeably in research or clinical settings. Given that external responsibility attributions are associated with worse post-injury outcomes, potential interventions to optimise recovery should be prioritised for patients who predominantly report lower levels of personal responsibility, especially women and people with compensable injuries. Meanwhile, factors associated with high levels of personal responsibility highlight opportunities to implement targeted injury prevention strategies.