Social adjustment and interaction after severe head injury.

The social adjustment of 11 severely head injured patients was assessed using the KATZ adjustment scale. The result suggested that the group had poor social adjustment, and on many dimensions was similar to a psychiatric population. The head-injured patients also had social interaction difficulties as assessed by a range of observational and self-report measures. When compared to an out-patient and non-clinical group they had poor social performance, high social anxiety and low self-esteem. The implications of this for rehabilitation are discussed.