Influence of personal relationships on trauma injury recovery : a qualitative study

This exploratory study aimed to qualitatively investigate the role of personal relationships in the first 12 months after trauma injury, particularly in relation to individuals psychological coping strategies and resilience. Semi-structured interviews with 19 participants (4 female, aged 31 to 75, M = 51.26, SD = 13.09) who had experienced trauma injury and were sourced from the Tasmanian Trauma Injury Registry were conducted. Three superordinate themes: changes to social support system, types of social support provided, responses to social support and five subordinate themes: shifting social convoys, emotional and physical closeness as a protective factor, layer of support, above and beyond, personality and openness to social support emerged from the participant interviews. These themes highlight the changes that occur within social support networks as a result of trauma injury, the types of social support provided after trauma injury and the injured person's response to social support; distinct coping style groups were also explored. The findings underscore the pivotal role of close relationships in the first 12 months of recovery post trauma injury and offers valuable insights into the intricate interplay between social networks and psychological recovery during this time, laying the foundation for future investigations in this domain. Direction for future investigation into particular relational dynamics and quantitative methodologies are suggested.