Relationships after TBI: A grounded research study

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This qualitative study was conducted to develop a framework for conceptualizing and assessing couples after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Additionally, it purposes to establish a foundation built upon the practices of successful couples that have subsisted TBI from which methods of treatment can be drawn. Existing personal narratives written by survivors of TBI and their caregivers were analyzed. Data triangulation was performed with clinician-authored literature referencing the impact of TBI on coupled relationships. Constant comparative analysis of the data was then performed through an interactive process data reduction, coding, and theoretical sampling. Five primary themes emerged: (1) Ambiguous Losses, (2) Identity Reformations, (3) Tenuous Stability, (4) Non Omnes Moriar (the Latin phrase meaning “not all of us has died”), and (5) The New Us. From these, two grounded theories were developed: Relational Coring (the impact of TBI on coupled relationships) and Relational Recycling (the pathway that resilient couples take toward healing after TBI). These theories will allow researchers and practitioners to grasp the impact of TBI on the coupled relationship, familiarize themselves with the process by which relational experiences following TBI interact and understand the ways in which couples respond to these interacting experiences to work toward relational healing

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