Resilience Over Time in a Longitudinal Study Following Patients with Physical Injury

Purpose: The goal of the practicum study was to examine psychological resilience among individuals admitted to a Level I trauma center at the time of injury and one year post injury. Hypothesis: Resilience remains stable in individuals over time, regardless of injury type or severity. Methods: This prospective cohort study included patients ≥18 years of age admitted to a Level 1 trauma center for ≥24 hours. Resilience and depression were measured at baseline and 12 months using the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale 10-Item (CD-RISC 10) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). Injury-related variables included Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), etiology of injury, and type of injury. Results: The sample size consisted of 110 subjects. Data suggested that there was no significant change in overall resilience. There were negative correlations between resilience and depression. There were also negative correlations between GCS and depression at baseline and 12 months. Analysis of demographic variables revealed a positive correlation among education level and resilience, as well as a significant association between baseline resilience and employment. Conclusion: Resilience did not change over time, suggesting that resilience appears to be more of an inherited trait, rather than a modifiable state. These results show that individuals who have low resilience are more likely to be depressed at 12 months post injury. The results of this study suggest that assessing resilience at the time of injury may be useful in identifying those at risk for depression in the year following injury. Further, this study supports the need for psychological support for individuals who have sustained a traumatic injury to improve outcome.