Letter to editor: Peer attitudes after adolescent acquired brain injury: moving from intention to real-world inclusion

Adolescent acquired brain injury (ABI) often results in long-term social challenges, with peer acceptance playing a crucial role in psychosocial outcomes. Hills and Dunsmuir's study highlights how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influence adolescents' intentions to engage with peers with ABI, explaining 83% of the variance. Notably, perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor, indicating that even positive attitudes may not translate into inclusion if engagement is perceived as difficult. Externalizing behaviors further reduce the likelihood of peer acceptance. These findings underscore the need for peer-focused interventions, such as structured mentoring, cooperative learning, and social skills programs, to enhance practical inclusion strategies in educational settings. Clinicians and educators should move beyond awareness-raising toward targeted approaches that make social participation with peers following ABI achievable and sustainable.