Everyday event memory, psychological well-being, and quality of life after a Traumatic Brain Injury

Memory contributes to well-being and quality of life through its fundamental social and identity-related functions. The present study aims to investigate this relationship in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using an ecological assessment of everyday event memory (L-RECAP). Fifty TBI patients were invited to describe their ongoing activities five times a day via their smartphone, every day for one week, and were subsequently questioned about five of these events. The specificity, accuracy, and phenomenology of these everyday memories were assessed. Quality of life was assessed using the Quality of Life Systemic Inventory questionnaire (QLSI; Dupuis et al., 1989), which takes individual aspirations into account by measuring the discrepancy between current and desired states across various life domains. Psychological distress was assessed using the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ45; Lambert et al. 2004). All memory measures were correlated with the QLSI, r range[-.46; -.58], and the OQ45, r range [-.32; -.45], particularly with the symptom distress, r range [-.33; -.45], and interpersonal relations subscales, r range [-.41; -.50]. Only phenomenological aspects were significantly associated with the social role subscale (r =-.32), suggesting that confidence in one’s memories – previously linked to memory phenomenology – may facilitate engagement and comfort in social roles. These correlations exceed those typically reported with traditional memory tasks or questionnaires, highlighting the importance of using comprehensive surveys and ecological memory assessment integrating both objective and subjective components of autobiographical memory, as these different aspects are all linked to the well-being and quality of life of TBI individuals.