Objective : This study aimed to provide basic data for occupational therapy intervention programs to prevent social isolation through holistic rehabilitation of brain injury patients by identifying the degree of depression and anxiety experienced by brain injury patients and the effect of these psychological factors on social participation. Methods : From December 2024 to August 2025, a direct survey was conducted on 124 brain injury patients, and based on the data obtained, descriptive statistics of frequency analysis were applied to the general characteristics of the subjects, and independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were applied to compare social participation according to the general characteristics of brain injury patients. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to find out the correlation between depression, anxiety, and social participation in brain injury patients, and the effects of depression and anxiety on social participation in brain injury patients were analyzed by applying multiple regression analysis. Results : The results of this study were as follow: First, in the comparison of social participation according to the general characteristics of brain injury patients, there were significant differences in brain injury type (p=.001), rehabilitation period (p=.000), and economic level (p=.000), and there were some differences in gender, age, and educational background, but there were no significant differences. Second, in the comparison of the correlation between depression and anxiety and social participation in brain injury patients, there was a significant negative (-) correlation between depression and social participation, and anxiety and social participation. Third, both depression and anxiety were found to have a significant difference on the effect of psychological variables of brain injury patients on social participation. Conclusion : This study was conducted to investigate the effect of depression and anxiety, which are psychological variables of brain injury patients, on social participation. It was confirmed that depression and anxiety experienced by brain injury patients had a significant difference on the degree of social participation. Specifically, it was found that the lower the degree of depression and anxiety, the more active the patients’ social interaction and community return.
