Course of insight disorder and emotional dysfunction following closed head injury: a controlled cross-sectional follow-up study.

Closed-head injury (CHI) patients at either 6 months (n = 24), 1 year (n = 19), or 2 to 3 years (n = 23) postinjury, were compared with a group of orthopedic control (OC) patients (n = 27). CHI patients assessed at 6 months postinjury experienced a Post-Traumatic Insight Disorder, in which they underreported the severity of their behavioural impairments. CHI patients in the 1 year and 2 to 3 year follow-up groups evidenced both greater insight about their level of behavioural impairment, and higher levels of emotional dysfunction. These findings suggested that the return of insight is associated with increased risk for emotional dysfunction. Implications of these findings for assessment and treatment of closed-head injury patients are discussed.