Background Existing literature highlights the role of socioeconomic disparities in post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) mental health outcomes. Lower income and education levels are associated with a higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, while racial disparities further influence psychiatric recovery, with non-White populations exhibiting more severe mental health trajectories following traumatic brain injury (Neumann et al., 2022; Remigio-Baker et al., 2022). However, there is limited research examining the experiences of minority populations. While socioeconomic factors are acknowledged in prior studies investigating TBI outcomes, income remains an under-investigated variable in understanding the relationship between TBI and psychiatric outcomes.MethodsDepressive symptoms were measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), a screening tool designed for older adults. The GDS includes items rated on a Likert scale, with higher scores indicating more depressive symptoms. It is widely used in both clinical and research settings. Measures Participants (Meanage = 62.5, SDage = 8.28) with a history of moderate/severe traumatic brain injury (TBI; N = 121, nMale = 86) completed a questionnaire assessing injury outcomes, demographic characteristics, and psychiatric symptom severity at Pennsylvania State University. The most frequently reported level of education was a high school diploma (n=52). The mean Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score at the time of injury was 11.1 (SD = 4.4), and the average time since injury was approximately 13.4 years (SD = 6.6). Regarding psychiatric history, 14.9% of participants reported a pre-injury psychiatric diagnosis, while 25.6% reported current psychiatric conditions, with depression and anxiety being the most prevalent.Results Chi-square analyses revealed no significant association between race and psychiatric diagnoses (?²(1) = 0.132, p = 0.716), suggesting that unmeasured factors, such as healthcare access and socioeconomic stability, may contribute to racial disparities in psychiatric outcomes. Further analyses are underway using ANOVA to examine the relationship between socioeconomic status and psychiatric diagnoses. These findings highlight the complexity of psychiatric recovery post-TBI and need for further research on how financial stability, healthcare accessibility, and resources shape mental health outcomes in diverse populations.