Citation

Bogan AM, Livingston MG, Parry-Jones WL, Buston KM, Wood SF. Brain Inj. 1997; 11(6): 431-443.

Affiliation

University of Glasgow, Scotland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9171928

Abstract

Thirty-one young people, who were experiencing chronic sequelae of a head injury sustained at least 1 year previously, were interviewed in-depth about the impact head injury had had on their lives. Their functioning was also assessed using the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ-R). The main theme raised by subjects was that they had not received adequate explanation of the emotional problems associated with head injury and relevant support in coming to terms with their condition. Head injury had had a devastating effect on their lives, causing limitations in day-to-day activities, employment, education and relationships, and they scored significantly below norms on the OSIQ-R scale of Self-Confidence. However, these young people had a predominantly positive attitude towards life, which appeared to be related to their appreciation of how fortunate they had been to survive. They scored significantly above norms on the OSIQ-R scale of Social Functioning. Markers of poor functioning were identified and, in clinical practice, could be used as a method of highlighting those head-injured young people who potentially are most in need of support. The findings have implications for future research directions, service delivery and planning, in that particular weaknesses of current provision are demonstrated and recommendations made for improvements.

Language: en