In the aftermath of an acquired brain injury, many survivors and their family members struggle to maintain their preferred identities. This is particularly so given the relational nature of storytelling and the numerous power relations functioning to silence and restrict certain stories, while others are allowed to be told. This study employs a qualitative methodology, narrative constructionist inquiry, in order to examine the stories of three participants following their involvement in a multi-family outdoor adventure program for brain injury survivors. The aims of the program were to provide opportunities for families to engage in outdoor adventure activities together, such as hiking, sea kayaking and challenge courses, so they could strengthen their relationships with themselves, each other, and their communities. Through an exploration of their stories, valuable insights regarding the shifts in narrative identity that occurred following brain injury are illuminated. Further, reflections pertaining to the importance of social contexts, nature and adventure, and the value of hope in the construction of preferred identities are discussed. Finally, recommendations for future research and practice are offered. / Graduate

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Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-48). / vii, 48 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-214).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [75]-82).

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Exercise Sciences, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, page: 0318. Adviser: Bahman Roudsari. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.N.)--University of Florida, 2004. / Typescript. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 73 pages. Includes Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

M.A. / Spinal cord trauma resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia is one of the most devastating injuries. A frequent complication of spinal cord injury is intractible pain. It compounds a host of personal and social consequences: disruption of personal roles, dysfunctional marital and family relationships, unemployment, financial hardship, depression, anxiety, lowered self-esteem and hopelessness. There is an abundance of research on pain in general, but a dearth of literature on chronic pain in the spinal cord injured population - especially in the South African context. This study examined the psychosocial impact of pain on spinal cord injured patients in a hospital setting. Specifically, it addressed six core research questions, concerned with the physiological components of pain, and the social, affective and rehabilitation consequences of pain for spinal cord injured patients. The effects of etiology and level of lesion, age, gender and culture on the general pain experience were investigated. The purpose of this study was to accurately describe the phenomenon of pain as experienced by spinal cord injured (SCI) patients. The evidence showed that pain was a serious problem for SCI patients. A variety of physical and social modifiers of the pain experience were identified, as were several important temporal features of pain. SCI patients reported high frequencies of social, affective (depression, low selfesteem, suicidal responses and partner relationship problems), and rehabilitation consequences. The etiology of spinal cord injury was found to be related to pain intensity, while the level of the lesion was not associated with pain intensity or frequency. Some effect was found for age, however, gender did not contribute to the variance of any of the dependent variables. The culture of SCI patients plays an important role in both pain perception and the psychosocial and rehabilitation consequences of chronic pain. The results suggest that pain in SCI patients, as in other pain populations, needs to be recognized as a complex, multidimensional phenomena. Successful treatment requires an understanding of the SCI patient's emotional and psychological, as well as his physical requirements. The role of pain assessment is fundamental to any pain management programme.

M.A. / The power of positive thinking to promote and maintain well-being has enjoyed widespread popular appeal. Spurred largely by the development of the Life Orientation Test (LOT) (Scheier & Carver, 1985), mounting evidence now attests to the apparent benefits conferred by an optimistic life outlook. Optimism, the inclination to expect favourable outcomes, has been linked to both psychological and physical well-being (Taylor, et al., 1992; Cheng & Hamid, 1997; Marshall, Wortman, Kusalas, Hervig, & Vickers, 1992; Scheier, Carver & Bridges, 1994; Scheier et al., 1989; Segerstrom, Taylor, Kemeny, & Fahey, 1998). Optimists and pessimists have been shown to differ in the manner in which they cope with the challenges in their lives. They differ in their stable coping tendencies and in the kinds of coping responses that they spontaneously generate when given hypothetical coping situations (Scheier, Weintraub, & Carver, 1986). Optimists also differ from pessimists in the manner in which they cope with serious disease and with concerns about specific health threats (Friedman, et al., 1992), and these coping mechanisms in optimists in turn have been linked to improved physical and psychological functioning. There is also a clear biological link between optimism and physical well-being and this has been noted in such areas as immune functioning (Peterson & Bossio, 2002). The current study examines these apparent benefits of optimism on health and explores the medical bases for this connection. The study also examines whether these benefits may be of use in the treatment and recovery from the unique secondary medical complications experienced by those who are spinal cord injured.