Diagnosis Threat and Injury Beliefs after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Samantha N. Carter-Allison*, Sebastian Potter, Katharine Rimes

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background Diagnosis threat is a psychosocial factor proposed to contribute to poor cognitive outcomes following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The current research explored diagnosis threat impact on objective and subjective cognitive performance in a "high risk" population of athletes. Two possible moderators of diagnosis threat - injury beliefs and suggestibility - were also investigated. Method Seventy-six participants with a history of mTBI were recruited through sports clubs and randomized to a months threat group (instructions drew attention to mTBI history) or a control group (no mention of mTBI). They completed a battery of neuropsychological tests and questionnaires regarding day-to-day cognitive abilities. Measures of depression, anxiety, illness beliefs and suggestibility were also collected. Results No significant group differences were found on any neuropsychological tasks, nor on self-report of cognitive difficulties. Illness beliefs were not found to play a moderating role in general, although the majority of the study sample did not report negative mTBI beliefs and expectations: concern about the consequences of injury was associated with weaker performance on one test, WAIS-III Digit Span performance. Suggestibility was also found to have a significant affect on this test. Conclusions Diagnosis threat did not appear to have a marked affect on objective or subjective cognitive performance after mTBI in athletes. Differing injury beliefs between the study's athlete population and the general population is a possible explanation for different findings in the area. This and other sources of potential variation in the affect of diagnosis threat are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)727-737
Number of pages11
JournalArchives of Clinical Neuropsychology
Volume31
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2016
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental Health

Keywords

  • Attention
  • Concussion
  • Illness perceptions
  • Memory
  • Stereotype threat
  • Suggestibility

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