Redefined self, reconfigured relationships: Navigating the aftermath of traumatic brain injury in adolescents and young adults

Sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during adolescence - a critical period for identity formation - can significantly hinder social involvement. In addition to the initial recovery period limiting opportunities for interaction, survivors often experience behavioral and emotional changes that contribute to ongoing social isolation. As a continuation of research involving the same participants, this study explores how survivors who sustained TBI during adolescence and young adulthood experience their sense of self and social interactions following the injury. Employing the descriptive phenomenological framework as proposed by Giorgi, eleven participants who had experienced a TBI between the ages of thirteen and twenty-seven were selected, with the time since injury ranging from seven to thirty-seven years. Analysis revealed three key themes: changed self, friendship dynamics, and social encounters outside close relationships. Our study highlights that adolescent and young adult survivors of TBI experience multifaceted challenges which disrupt identity formation and social engagement, characterized by a dual othering—external marginalization and internal fragmentation—that intensifies isolation and underscores the need for holistic, developmentally informed psychosocial rehabilitation.