Characters in contexts: Identity and personality processes that influence individual and family adjustment to brain injury

A multidimensional perspective regarding the nature of identity formation and the structure of personality is applied to the processes that contribute to individual and family adjustment to brain injury. This perspective maintains that personality is pluralistic and that the "self" is composed of multiple selves who vary in their personality characteristics and in the extent to which they play a role in the life of the individual and family. A brain injury can cause drastic alterations in identity and the structure of the self as a result of changes in personal traits and abilities, social context, and family dynamics. Rehabilitation can more effectively facilitate the reconstruction of identity if the unique configuration of multiple selves in the individual and family is taken into account.