Correlates of resilience in the first 5 years after traumatic brain injury.

Purpose/objective: To examine resilience in the context of adjustment to traumatic brain injury (TBI), including the relative roles of demographic and theoretically related constructs such as coping, social support, and positive affectivity on resilience within the first 5 years postinjury.

Research Method/design: This was a cross-sectional, observational study of 67 persons with medically documented mild complicated to severe TBI. Participants completed a battery of measures including cognitive tests; questionnaires assessing self-report of emotional symptoms, perceived social support, and coping style; and a measure of resilience.

Results: Approximately 60% of the sample endorsed moderate to high levels of resilience during the first 5 years postinjury. Brain injury severity, premorbid intelligence, and cognitive flexibility did not predict resilience, as measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. By contrast, task-oriented coping and perceived social support were strong and unique covariates of resilience. Positive and negative affectivity were related to resilience but were not unique covariates of it in the presence of task-oriented coping and perceived social support. Discriminant validity of resilience as a concept and the means of assessing it was supported by findings that emotion-oriented and avoidance coping were not meaningfully related to resilience.

Conclusions/implications: Overall, the findings indicate that the majority of individuals in this sample reported high levels of resilience after brain injury and that correlates of resilience in adults with TBI is similar to that observed in adults without the history of cognitive impairment. (PsycINFO Database Record