‘I am not who you think I am’: public stigma and invisible brain injury ( ‘No soy quien creen que soy’: estigma público y daño cerebral invisible )

Abstract

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is a silent epidemic that affects people’s cognitive, neurobehavioural and socio-emotional functioning, generating impairments that are often invisible, that is, not apparent to the naked eye and difficult to understand. The literature suggests that the invisibility of ABI in addition to a lack of knowledge, misinformation and unfamiliarity in the general public are common sources of the stigma towards this population. As a consequence, psychoeducation to the general public has been defined as a key intervention, even though it has been traditionally directed at ABI survivors, their families and their immediate social environment. The purpose of this literature review is to outline the relationship between invisible deficits and public stigma. This review is theoretically guided by the social attribution theory and the danger appraisal model. We also discuss the implications of these models for the neuropsychological rehabilitation of people with ABI, placing special emphasis on the need to make psychoeducation available to the general public as an intervention that reduces stigma and, consequently, facilitates community reintegration.