The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Community Integration and Return to Work After Acquired Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether emotional intelligence (EI) skills measured via the Perceiving, Understanding, and Managing Emotions branches of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test V2.0 are associated with community integration (CI) and return to work (RTW) after moderate-to-severe acquired brain injury (ABI), after accounting for other established predictors. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Outpatient follow-up services within 2 specialist ABI rehabilitation centers in Melbourne, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals (N=82) with moderate-to-severe ABI discharged from inpatient rehabilitation and living in the community (2mo to 7y postinjury). INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Community Integration Questionnaire scores for the total sample (N=82; age range 18-80) and RTW status (employed vs not employed) for the subset of participants employed prior to ABI (n=71; age range 19-66). RESULTS: Hierarchical logistic and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the unique contribution of Perceiving, Understanding, and Managing Emotions scores to RTW and CI, after controlling for demographic, injury-related, psychological, and cognitive predictors. As a set, the 3 EI variables did not explain incremental variance in outcomes. However, individually, Understanding Emotions predicted RTW (adjusted odds ratio=3.10, P=.03), χ2 (12)=35.52, P<.001, and Managing Emotions predicted CI (ß=0.23, P=.036), F12,69=5.14, P<.001. CONCLUSION: Although the EI constructs in combination did not improve prediction beyond the effects of established variables, individual components of strategic EI may be important for specific participation outcomes after ABI.

The relationship between cognitive and neuroimaging outcomes in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia with chemotherapy only: A systematic review.

Cognitive late-effects have been identified in patients treated with chemotherapy-only protocols for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), yet the underlying neuropathology is not well understood. This review synthesized recent findings from eight articles investigating the relationship between neurocognitive and neuroimaging outcomes for patients treated for ALL with chemotherapy-only protocols. Reported cognitive domains, imaging methods, and neuroanatomy examined were variable. Despite this, 62.5% (n = 5) of the reviewed studies found a significant relationship between cognitive and imaging outcomes. Greater understanding of the effects of treatment on neuroanatomy and cognitive outcomes is critical for proactively managing ALL cognitive late-effects. Research directions are suggested.