Awareness of disability and long-term outcome after traumatic brain injury

The degree of long-term (7.41 years postinjury) impairment of disability aw areness was quantified in 63 adults with closed-head injuries as the differ ence between self-ratings and staff ratings on the Scales of Independent Be havior. Impaired awareness was significantly associated with lower vocation al and residential status, maladaptive behavior, greater distractibility, a nd increased perseveration. Impaired awareness is directly proportional to duration of posttraumatic amnesia and general memory. Impaired awareness of disability appears to be a consequence of a general cognitive impairment r ather than a specific deficit.