Life satisfaction and distress in family caregivers as related to specific behavioural changes after traumatic brain injury

Primary objective: To predict long-term outcome of those caring for family members who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods and procedures: A multivariate approach was used to examine the effectiveness of caregiver coping strategies in the context of TBI-related behavioural change. Self-administered questionnaire packages were collected from 72 adult survivor and family-member pairs who provided information on survivors' altered executive function, behavioural control and emotional sensitivity as well as caregivers' methods of coping, attitudes toward caregiving, indices of distress, mood ratings and quality of life. Main outcomes and results: Family members generally reported higher levels of satisfaction than dissatisfaction with their caregiving role. The type of neurobehavioural deficit and the approaches taken to cope with stress had specific effects on each dimension of caregiver outcome. Conclusions: Adequate family support requires finely tuned assessment of factors relevant to successful coping.