Exploration of correlates of self-reported personality change after moderate–severe traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Objective: Individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often express concern that their personality has changed. Factors generating that conclusion are rarely explored quantitatively. Accordingly, this study examines neurobehavioural correlates of self-reported personality change.

Methods: Seventy-one participants and informants were interviewed M = 57.9 (SD = 46.9) months after a moderate–severe TBI. The degree of self-reported personality change was correlated with scores on measures of general cognitive functioning, executive functioning, olfaction, social-emotional behaviour, emotional distress and the Expressed Emotion close informants directed towards them.

Results: As expected, self-reported personality change correlated with dysexecutive symptoms and depression. Although anosmia (a putative index of ventral frontal damage) correlated with reduced self-reported emotional recognition and empathy, against prediction, the latter measures did not correlate with self-reported personality change. Neither were the predicted positive correlations found between high Expressed Emotion (criticism and emotional over-involvement) and self-reported personality change.

Discussion: These findings are discussed in the context of previous work. A need to replicate and extend the present findings is suggested. A strategy to further clarify the relationships perceived personality change have with (a) self-reported change in specific behaviours and (b) identity change is advocated. Implications for intervention are suggested.

Keywords:

• Emotion recognition
• empathy
• frontal lobe
• executive functioning
• depression

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. NW Davies, Dr. L Cleobury and Dr. R Woodfield, our research assistants, for collecting the data for this study.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.