title: Brain injury severity, litigation status, and self-report of postconcussive symptoms.
abstract: The Postconcussive Symptom Questionnaire (PCSQ) was developed to assess the symptoms associated with the controversial diagnosis of postconcussion syndrome. We examined item endorsement on the PCSQ in two groups. The first group was made up of individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. The second group was made up of individuals meeting criteria for mild traumatic brain injury who exhibited no evidence of neurological injury. In addition, they demonstrated poor effort during neuropsychological examination. Significant differences in item endorsement were found the majority of individual items as well as on the PCSQ indices. The poor effort mild traumatic brain injury group consistently reported more symptoms with greater severity. The results raise further questions about the validity of postconcussion symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Neuropsychology, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. jtsanadis@med.wayne.edu
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tsanadis
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montoya
authors.forename: Robin A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hanks
authors.forename: Scott R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Millis
authors.forename: Norman L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Fichtenberg
authors.forename: Bradley N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Axelrod
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D038223:Post-Concussion Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012650:Self Disclosure; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D055815:Young Adult