The good-old-days bias and post-concussion syndrome symptom reporting in a non-clinical sample

Abstract

Primary objective: To investigate the good-old-days bias, a psychosocial factor associated with post-concussion syndrome (PCS).

Study design: Repeated measures comparison of PCS symptoms reported 6 months prior (retrospectively) and currently. A non-clinical sample was used to determine if this bias is a general recall bias.

Methods and procedures: Fifty-seven university students with no history of brain injury or neurological disease completed the British Columbia Post-concussion Symptom Inventory. Symptoms were reported on two occasions, spaced 1 week apart, commencing with current symptoms.

Main outcomes and results: Using PCS symptom frequency by severity product scores, there was no significant difference in the 13 PCS symptoms reported across occasions, nor the relevant summary score (p = 0.199). These data do not support the presence of a general recall bias. However, significant differences emerged when analysed using a simple count of the total number of endorsed symptoms (p = 0.002, d = 0.39, small-to-medium effect) or the sample percentage that endorsed each symptom (four symptoms were endorsed by fewer participants retrospectively than currently).

Conclusions: There is only weak evidence of a general recall bias in this non-clinical sample. Further consideration of the methods used to study this bias and its role clinically is needed.

• Mild traumatic brain injury
• post-concussion syndrome
• good-old-days bias
• assessment

Notes

Notes

1. Note that the recruitment methods used for this study included advertisement via email and fliers; hence, the study response rate could not be calculated.

2. Six people from the 63 that were initially recruited for this study were excluded from the analysis on the basis of their DASS scores, leaving a final sample size of 57.

3. The BC-PSI has 16 items in total, 13 of which assess PCS symptoms. The remaining three items assess the presence or absence of three ‘life problems’.