title: Impaired National Adult Reading Test (NART) performance in traumatic brain injury.
abstract: Some research suggests the National Adult Reading Test (NART) may be impaired by traumatic brain injury (TBI). To investigate this, a prospective, longitudinal study included 214 Australian TBI participants given the NART within 1 month post-injury, and at 6 and 12 months. TBI severity, age, education, sex, and mood (HADS) were examined, and significant improvement in NART- estimated full-scale IQ (FSIQ) was noted over time (p < .001). A three-way interaction of time, severity, and age showed younger and middle-aged mild TBI sub-groups improved significantly between 1 and 6 months post-injury, and the older sub-group between 6 and 12 months. In severe TBI, significant NART-estimated FSIQ improvement was noted only for the middle-aged and only between 6 and 12 months post-TBI. NART administration soon after TBI underestimated premorbid IQ, with a complex relationship between time post-injury, severity, and age. Participants with a longer education had higher NART FSIQs, although those with less education gained more IQ points between initial and 6 months assessments suggesting higher initial NART impairment. Regression equations predicted NART FSIQ at 6 (R = 0.813) and 12 months post-trauma (R = 0.792-0.845), their effectiveness being confirmed via cross-validation. No significant relationships were noted between NART-estimated FSIQ and mood variables, or evidence of significant gains in estimated FSIQ between 12 and 24 months post-injury.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Tasmania, Australia. clive.skilbeck@utas.edu.au
authors.forename: Clive
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Skilbeck
authors.forename: Tracey
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slatyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D018672:Community Health Planning; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011932:Reading; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult