Brain Injury Relationships Category

By Marilyn Lash
It’s a common belief that most marriages end in separation or divorce after a spouse has a traumatic brain injury. Certainly the physical, cognitive, social, behavioral and communicative changes caused by brain trauma can affect a couple’s relationship. These changes are just the primary losses. Additional changes, known as secondary losses, can range from loss of income, to loss of friends, jobs or careers. As roles and responsibilities formerly shared by a couple are reexamined and redistributed after a spouse is injured, the relationship between a husband and wife changes in many ways. There is very little scientific research on marital relationships so much is still unknown about the impact of brain trauma on marriage. Reasons for a marriage dissolving are always complex, but this may be even more so when one partner has a disability or impairment due to a brain injury. So it is important to look at the findings from 3 research studies on this topic.

• One study conducted by Thomsen in 1984 found a very high rate of 78% for marital breakdown. But it is important to note that this was a very select group of individuals who were studied. It examined only 9 couples who were 10-15 years post-injury. In addition, many of them had severe brain injuries and most were living in a residential assisted living program. So one must question how applicable these findings are today.
• The second study led by J.C. Arango-Lasprilla was more recent in 2008. It also was much larger, including 927 individuals who were injured. In contrast to the earlier study, the marital breakdown rate was only 15% within the first 2 years post-injury. This study offers much more hope for relationships to survive the stresses and challenges of daily living after a partner has been hurt.
• The third study led by J. Kreutzer in 2007 not only found that 25% of relationships broke down but that this occurred an average of 4.1 years after a spouse’s injury.