An Exploration of Hope in the Rehabilitation of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury
There are an estimated 5.3 million U.S. citizens living with disabilities caused by traumatic brain injury (Thurman, Alverson, Dunn, Guerrero, & Sniezek, 1999). Research has focused on identifying the factors that influence the likelihood and type of disability following a traumatic brain injury (TBI). One factor that has not been examined is hope, as defined by Snyder, Irving, and Anderson (1991). The purpose of this study was to explore hope and the problems commonly experienced by individuals with TBI. Participants were 1 female and 9 males who were recruited over a 4-month period from a brain injury rehabilitation program in Missoula, MT. Data from 5 of these participants were included for analysis. Participants completed a demographic and injury information questionnaire, the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale (Snyder, Harris, et al., 1991), and the Problem Checklist (Kay, Cavallo, Ezrachi, & Vavagiakis, 1995). Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographic, injury, and treatment characteristics of the sample. Case analyses in which basic information regarding each participant’s TBI, Adult Dispositional Hope Scale scores and PCL scores were presented. Overall, participants reported slightly higher than average hope levels, and mild to moderate symptoms on the Problem Checklist. Results of this study suggest that further research is needed to explore the relationship between hope and problems that are commonly experienced by individuals with TBI.
head injury, rehabilitation, brain injury, hope
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations