title: Brain injury beliefs, self-awareness, and coping: a preliminary cluster analytic study based within the self-regulatory model.
abstract: The interplay between individuals' subjective beliefs about traumatic brain injury, their coping style and their self-awareness might provide a more helpful guide to rehabilitation goals than looking at these factors in isolation. We therefore conducted a preliminary study to determine whether the Self-Regulatory Model can identify different clusters of individuals according to belief schemata, and to explore whether clusters differed across measures of coping and self-awareness. The Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised was administered to 37 participants with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), along with the Ways of Coping Checklist-Revised and the European Brain Injury Questionnaire. Clinicians also rated clients' level of difficulties using the latter scale, and the discrepancy between client and clinician scores was used as a measure of self-awareness. Hierarchical cluster analysis distinguished three groups based on profiles of subjective beliefs about TBI, labelled "low control/ambivalent", "high salience", and "high optimism". The high salience group was characterised by beliefs about serious consequences of the injury and greater self-awareness, and reported a greater range of coping strategies. The other two groups showed lower levels of awareness but differed in coping styles, with the low control/ambivalent group showing a trend towards more avoidance coping against a background of lower perceived control.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. a_medley@o2.co.uk
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Medley
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Worthington
authors.forename: Gagandeep
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chohan
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness / Q000502:physiology*; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003469:Culture; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult