Who benefits? Outcome following a coping skills group intervention for traumatically brain injured individuals

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the variables associated with positive psychological outcome following a group intervention for 33 individuals with traumatic brain injury. RESEARCH DESIGN: Evaluation study which used multiple regression analysis to examine the variables associated with change in psychological adjustment following a 10-session cognitive behaviour therapy-based group. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The predictor variables were age at injury, time since injury, injury severity, self-awareness, pre-morbid intellectual function, memory function, executive function and level of depression and anxiety prior to intervention. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The predictor variables contributed a significant proportion of the variance in percentage change in depression. The major finding was that better outcomes following intervention were associated with greater self-awareness of injury-related deficits. CONCLUSIONS: The present study identified a number of variables that were associated with improvement in depression following psychological intervention and may assist future treatment resources to be directed most effectively.