Sexual Satisfaction of Individuals Whose Spouses Have Incurred a Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has been labeled a silent epidemic by the Center for Disease Control. However, relatively little research has focused on the impact of TBI on the sexual satisfaction of an uninjured spouse. Objective: Explore gender and severity differences in marital and sexual satisfaction of individuals whose spouse has incurred a TBI. Design: Between-group design using correlation and multivariate analysis of variance. Participants: Married adults (n =99) who have a spouse with a TBI (n=38) or a spouse who has never experienced a TBI (n=61). Measures: Surveys and the Marital Satisfaction Inventory-Revised (MSI-R). Results: The TBI group endorsed significantly less marital and sexual satisfaction, with no significant differences between genders or TBI severities. Conclusions: Spouses of individuals with TBI experience less marital and sexual satisfaction. Moreover, variables associated with less sexual satisfaction include frequency of sexual intercourse, frequency of sexual activity (other than sexual intercourse), and age of injured partner.