Reduced community integration in persons following traumatic brain injury, as measured on the Community Integration Measure: an exploratory analysis.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the community integration of individuals who had suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and compare this to members of the general public.


METHODS
An independent groups design explored differences in three groups' levels of community integration. These groups consisted of ten survivors of TBI, ten male and ten female controls and were measured using The Community Integration Measure (CIM). All participants were resident in Northern Ireland (NI). The brain injured participants were drawn from a Belfast-based social skills programme.


RESULTS
Mann-Whitney U tests showed a statistically significant difference between female controls and brain-injured individuals (U = 26.50, N(1) = 10, N(2) = 10, p = 0.037, one-tailed).


CONCLUSIONS
Females were more integrated into their communities than males, who were, in turn, more integrated than brain injured individuals. It would appear that brain injury survivors are doubly disadvantaged. Their gender (mainly male), and the injury itself, conspire to reduce their integration within the wider community.
Linden
Mark A
MA
School of Psychology, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT9 5BP, Northern Ireland, UK. M.Linden@QUB.AC.UK
Crothers
Ivor R
IR
O'Neill
Sheena B
SB
McCann
John P
JP
D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012917:Social Adjustment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires