Depression and Pragmatics in Adult Patients with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The study examined the association between depression and pragmatics in mild traumatic brain injured (MTBI) adults. Pragmatics is defined as the use of language in a social context (Wiig & Semel, 1984). The sample consisted of 14 MTBI adult males from private institutions as well as out-patient clinics for head injured patients at government institutions in Gauteng, South Africa. The patients were from different racial groups (Blacks = 5, White= 5, Indian = 4) and the age range was from 21 to 35 years. The patients were seen two to 36 months post traumatic brain injury. The data were collected using Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI) (1978) and Prutting and Kirchners Pragmatic Protocol (PKPP)(1987). Data were analysed utilizing simple frequencies descriptive statistics. Participants with depression displayed the highest level of inappropriateness with regard to verbal pragmatics and the paralinguistic aspects of pragmatics.