Personality Assessment Inventory profiles of veterans: Differential effects of mild traumatic brain injury and psychopathology.
OBJECTIVE
Neuropsychiatric complaints often accompany mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), a common condition in post-deployed Veterans. Self-report, multi-scale personality inventories may elucidate the pattern of psychiatric distress in this cohort. This study investigated valid Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) profiles in post-deployed Veterans.


METHODS
Measures of psychopathology and mTBI were examined in a sample of 144 post-deployed Veterans divided into groups: healthy controls (n = 40), mTBI only (n = 31), any mental health diagnosis only (MH; n = 25), comorbid mTBI and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (mTBI/PTSD; n = 23), and comorbid mTBI, PTSD, and other psychological diagnoses (mTBI/PTSD/MDD+; n = 25).


RESULTS
There were no significant differences between the mTBI and the control group on mean PAI subscale elevation, or number of subscale elevations above 60T or 70T. The other three groups had significantly higher overall mean scores, and more elevations above 60 and 70T compared to both controls and mTBI only. The mTBI/PTSD/MDD+ group showed the highest and most elevations. After entering demographics, PTSD, and number of other psychological diagnoses into hierarchical regressions using the entire sample, mTBI history did not predict mean PAI subscale score or number of elevations above 60T or 70T. PTSD was the only significant predictor. There were no interaction effects between mTBI and presence of PTSD, or between mTBI and total number of diagnoses.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that mTBI alone is not uniquely related to psychiatric distress in Veterans, but that PTSD accounts for self-reported symptom distress.
Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences Service Line, W.G. (Bill) Hefner Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, 11-M2/MH&BS, 1601 Brenner Ave, Salisbury, NC, 28144, USA. Holly.Miskey@va.gov.|Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECC), Durham, NC, USA. Holly.Miskey@va.gov.
Holly M
HM
Miskey
Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences Service Line, W.G. (Bill) Hefner Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, 11-M2/MH&BS, 1601 Brenner Ave, Salisbury, NC, 28144, USA.|Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECC), Durham, NC, USA.
Robert D
RD
Shura
Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences Service Line, W.G. (Bill) Hefner Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, 11-M2/MH&BS, 1601 Brenner Ave, Salisbury, NC, 28144, USA.|Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECC), Durham, NC, USA.
Ruth E
RE
Yoash-Gantz
Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Centers (MIRECC), Durham, NC, USA.|Research and Education Service Line, W. G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center, Salisbury, NC, USA.
Jared A
JA
Rowland
D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*
PTSD; Postconcussive; Posttraumatic; Veteran; mTBI