Relation of Executive Functioning and Affect to Psychosocial Outcome After Traumatic Brain Injury

The present study examined the interrelationships between affect and executive functioning and concurrently measured community integration and employability outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI). A sample of 227 adults with complicated mild to severe TBI completed neuropsychological measures of executive functioning, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Community Integration Measure, and the Disability Rating Scale during follow-up evaluations that occurred up to 15 years postinjury. Contrary to previous cognitive research in this area, positive and negative affect were only weakly related to tests of executive functioning, with better performance associated with higher levels of positive affect and lower levels of negative affect. Regression analyses indicated that affect and executive functioning were independent predictors of perceived community integration and objectively assessed employability, respectively. However, hypotheses regarding the combined contribution of these variables to psychosocial outcome following TBI were not supported. Implications for measuring mood, executive functioning, and outcome in clinical practice and future research are considered