Abstract
Couple relationships after acquired brain injury (ABI) could be vulnerable to emotional distress. Previous evidence has demonstrated significant marital dissatisfaction in the first period after a traumatic event, while long-term evaluations are lacking. In this study, we evaluated the impact of a series of demographic and clinical factors on marital stability after two years from the injury. Thirty-five patients (29% female) with mild/moderate ABI (57% vascular, 43% traumatic) and their partners were enrolled. The couples completed a series of psychological questionnaires assessing marital adjustment (Dyadic Adjustment Scale, DAS) and family functioning (Family Relationship Index, FRI) at discharge from the intensive rehabilitation unit and after 2 years. Demographics (i.e., educational level, job employment and religion commitment) and clinical variables (i.e., the Barthel index, aetiology and brain lesion localization) were considered as predictive factors. Regression analyses revealed that the DAS and FRI values are differently influenced by demographic and clinical factors in patients and caregivers. Indeed, the highest educational level corresponds to better DAS and FRI values for patients. In the spouses, the variability of the DAS values was explained by aetiology (the spouses of traumatic ABI patients had worse DAS values), whereas the variability in the FRI values was explained by religious commitment (spending much time on religious activities was associated with better FRI values). Our data suggest that some clinical and demographic variables might be important for protecting against marital dissatisfaction after an ABI.
Highlights
Acquired brain injury (ABI) determines cognitive, emotional, and behavioural changes negatively affecting the patient’s feelings and family relationships
Patients consecutively admitted to the Intensive Rehabilitation Unit (IRU)
They were of good clinical status with no evidence of unbalanced clinical characteristics
Summary
Acquired brain injury (ABI) determines cognitive, emotional, and behavioural changes negatively affecting the patient’s feelings and family relationships. These could be an important cause of stress and marital dissatisfaction. Assisting a person with cognitive disabilities as a result of brain damage could transform the relationship from reciprocal to unilateral, causing a stressful change in couples that makes it easier for depressive symptoms to develop in the spouses [5,6] or leads to a high incidence of divorce [7]. The spouse often starts to neglect the couple relationship in favour of a care relationship in which he/she takes care only of the daily life of the partner (washing, dressing or bathing) and the management of his/her health status (physiotherapy, medication and medical examinations) [9]. The caregiver is engaged in taking full charge of children, house and work, whereas love comes to be replaced by other feelings mostly associated with the role of protection and care [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
