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Semin Speech Lang 2018; 39(05): 416-426
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1670672
Review Article
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Friendship Quality, Friendship Quantity, and Social Participation in Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury

Margaret A. Flynn
1   Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
,
Bilge Mutlu
2   Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin
,
Melissa C. Duff
3   Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
,
Lyn S. Turkstra
4   School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
› Author Affiliations
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Publication History

Publication Date:
19 September 2018 (online)

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Abstract

Adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) often report reduced social participation and loss of friends, but little is known about quality of friendship after TBI. Our objective was to characterize social participation, friendship quantity, and friendship quality of adults with TBI and a comparison group of uninjured adults. Participants included 18 adults with moderate to severe TBI and 16 of their informant friends; and 18 uninjured adults and 11 of their informant friends. The main measures used were the Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools-Objective, the Social Network Questionnaire, and the McGill Friendship Questionnaire. Participants with TBI reported significantly less social participation and had fewer total friends, although this difference was not statistically significant. Adults with TBI differed from their friends on one measure of friendship quality, but reports for friendship quality were high in both groups. Adults with TBI reported overall high levels of friendship quality despite having lower levels of social participation compared with uninjured adults. Future research should investigate how the balance of quantity and quality of friendships relates to satisfaction with social participation and overall quality of life.

Keywords

adult - brain injury - friends - quality of life - social participation
 

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