Assault-related mild traumatic brain injury, expectations of injury outcome, and the effect of different perpetrators: A vignette study

ABSTRACT

Few studies have examined the effect of varying the assault perpetrator on expectations of outcome from mild TBI. Using a cross sectional between groups design, individuals with no history of mild TBI were randomly allocated to one of two vignette conditions. The vignette depicted a mild TBI with fixed injury parameters and a different assault perpetrator (partner, n = 27; or stranger, n = 27). The participants were instructed to imagine that they had been injured as per the depiction, and then to anticipate the injury consequences 6-months later. An online questionnaire was used including: the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version, the Impact of Events Scale-Revised, and the Perceived Ability to Cope with Trauma. The depicted injury was rated for the extent to which it was perceived as life-threatening, the subsequent diagnosis, and the global recovery prospects. The anticipated consequences of the injury (symptoms and trauma variables) did not differ across the conditions, all p’s > 0.05. The expected outcomes for an assault-related mild TBI were not affected by perpetrator type. However, the study had several limitations and further consideration of this factor may still be warranted.

KEYWORDS:

• Adults
• brain injury
• concussion
• experiment
• intimate partner violence
• mild head injury
• mild traumatic brain injury
• physical assault
• psychology
• vignette

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the contribution of Dr Shannon L. Edmed to the design and conceptualization of this project, including development of the vignettes, methodology, and formulation of the research question, Dr Sherrie-Anne Kaye for assistance with manuscript formatting, and Dr Janine Lurie for statistical advice. Data from this project was presented at the National Academy of Neuropsychology Conference, 19–22 October 2016, Seattle, WA.

Notes

¹The NSI and Posttraumatic Stress Checklist-Civilian were administered as per Cooper, Nelson, Armistead-Jehle, and Bowles (2011); that is, with items from the Mild Brain Injury Atypical Symptoms [MBIAS] scale interspersed.

Additional information

Funding

The Queensland University of Technology University Human Research Ethics Committee (QUT HREC no. 1200000150) approved this research. Funding for the prizes awarded in this project was provided by the School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology (QUT).