The impact of self-awareness and depression on subjective reports of memory, quality-of-life and satisfaction with life following TBI

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Study investigated the extent to which self-awareness and depressive symptomatology are associated with self-reports of memory, quality-of-Life (QoL), and satisfaction with life in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Thirty community-dwelling adults, who sustained a TBI at least 1 year prior to study enrollment, completed questionnaires to assess the constructs of depression, self-awareness, QoL, satisfaction with life and memory. Analyses revealed that symptoms of depression were significantly associated with self-reports of poor memory abilities, lower QoL, and lower satisfaction with life. Additionally, higher levels of self-awareness were associated with lower ratings of QoL, reduced memory abilities, and better strategy use regarding memory. However, when examining the contribution of each construct individually, depressive symptomatology, and not self-awareness, was significantly associated with subjective self-reports of memory, QoL, and satisfaction with life. This pattern of relationships illustrates that, when a person has a low level of depressive symptoms, his/her reports of QoL, memory, and satisfaction with life will be more positive; however, he/she will demonstrate more difficulty with self-awareness. The authors conclude that psychological aspects of recovery must be taken into account when using self-reported measures in the evaluation of people with TBI.

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