Differential response patterns on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in compensation-seeking and non-compensation-seeking mild traumatic brain injury patients

Abstract

There is relatively little research on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) populations. There is also little research on how compensation-seeking status affects personality assessment results in MTBI patients. The current study examined the PAI scales and subscales in two MTBI groups, one composed of compensation-seeking MTBI patients and the other consisting of non-compensation-seeking MTBI patients. Results indicated significant differences on several scales and subscales between the two MTBI groups, with the compensation-seeking MTBI patients having significantly higher elevations on scales related to somatic preoccupation (Somatic Complaint Scale, SOM), emotional distress (Anxiety Scale, ANX; Anxiety Related Disorders Scale, ARD; Depression Scale, DEP), and the Negative Impression Management, NIM, validity scale. All the SOM subscales and the Anxiety Cognitive (ANX-C) and ANX Affective, ANX-A, subscales were also elevated in the compensation-seeking group. Results indicated that several scales on the PAI were sensitive to group differences in compensation-seeking status in MTBI patients.

Keywords:

• Personality Assessment Inventory
• Mild traumatic brain injury
• Neuropsychological assessment
• Personality assessment
• Compensation seeking

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank John Kurtz for access to the data set from the Kurtz, Shealy, and Putnam (2007) article. This study would not have been possible without his kind assistance.