Cognitive vulnerabilities and depressed mood in acquired brain injury

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), an important cause of long-term disability, is associated with increased rates of depression in addition to common cognitive and physical consequences. Past research has linked post-ABI depression to injury severity (e.g., extent of physical or cognitive impairment) and premorbid mood problems. In the general (non-ABI) population, depression is associated with cognitive vulnerabilities that have informed the development of psychological interventions. In this observational study in a heterogeneous sample of individuals with chronic stage ABI, we examine two cognitive vulnerabilities - dysfunctional attitudes (DAs) and autobiographical memory specificity - and explore whether these are linked to depression symptoms and ongoing cognitive difficulties as in the general population. Compared to control participants, individuals with an ABI demonstrated increased endorsement of DAs and reduced specificity of autobiographical memory recall. Within the ABI group, cognitive vulnerability-depression symptom correlations were detected for an explicit measure of DAs, but not for a more implicit DA measure or for autobiographical memory specificity. While individual differences in injury severity and other factors likely obscured subtle relationships between mood and cognitive vulnerabilities, evidence of these vulnerabilities may be relevant to changes in identity and psychological interventions that target low mood in ABI.