Broken connections – what processes challenge interpersonal relationships after acquired brain injury?

Abstract

This thesis was submitted as part of a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University College Cork. It is comprised of six chapters. Chapter 1 provides a detailed overview of the current literature base on social functioning following Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), highlighting some of the drivers that underpinned this thesis. Chapter 2 consists of a meta- ethnography synthesising the existing qualitative literature on social relations following ABI. Chapter 3 is used to provide further information and an extended discussion of the methodological and analytical considerations in conducting the meta-ethnography. In Chapter 4 an empirical study is presented which employed a dyadic qualitative design to explore the lived experience of social changes from the perspectives of ABI survivors and their partners. This is then followed by further discussion in Chapter 5 of the methodological and analytical considerations involved in conducting the empirical study, before presenting concluding remarks in Chapter 6 to summarise the overall findings and contributions of this thesis.