Themes within Songs Written by People with Traumatic Brain Injury: Gender Differences

Abstract The study aimed to identify gender differences in the themes of songs written by patients with traumatic brain injury. Lyrics (1,834) from 82 songs written by 11 female and 21 male patients were categorized into 8 main themes and 24 subcategories. Incidence of subcategories and themes were calculated and compared across gender. Results showed that songs written by patients from both genders were predominantly focused on sending messages to significant others and on self-reflection. Males however tended to focus more on the concern for the future and expressing adversity in their lyrics when compared with females, and the lyrics of females more often reflected upon their relationships with others when compared with males.