The partner's experience of traumatic brain injury and its recovery.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) presents significant challenges to the partner of the person with the TBI and to the relationship they share. Struggling to deal with those challenges can have a significant impact on the psychological well-being of the partner, and on the quality and stability of the relationship. Compared with the general population, partners generally report higher levels of anxiety, stress and depression [1,2]; and lower levels of positive well-being, quality of life and life satisfaction [1,2]. Although there may be improvements [2], these difficulties can persist for many years after the TBI [3]. In terms of the impact on the relationship, methodological inadequacies in the research mean that there is, as yet, no clear answer to the question of whether TBI increases the rate of marital breakdown compared with the general population [4]. However, on measures of overall marital quality and satisfaction, partners tend to give their current relationship a poorer rating in comparison to the general population and to the preinjury relationship [4,5]. The primary aim of this overview is to summarize research about the partner’s negative experiences of TBI that may explain this damaging impact that the injury can have on their psychological well-being and the relationship. Understanding the experiences that contribute to the impact will highlight issues that need to be addressed in supporting couples after a TBI. The overview describes experiences both in the initial stages and in the longer term. It addresses the partner’s experience of more severe TBI (i.e., one that requires hospitalization and has long-lasting effects) rather than mild TBI. It should be noted that, although all the research papers cited in the review included at least some participants who were the partners of someone with a more severe TBI, a substantial number used mixed samples that contained participants who had other forms of brain injury (e.g., stroke), other familial relationships with the person with the injury (e.g., parents) or experience of mild TBI. Some partners have more positive experiences of TBI and this research, which is more limited in extent, will also be summarized. Understanding positive experiences may shed light on why some partners cope better than others.