Hostile Attribution Bias Shapes Neural Synchrony in the Left Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex during Ambiguous Social Narratives.

Hostile attribution bias refers to the tendency to interpret social situations as intentionally hostile. While previous research has focused on its developmental origins and behavioral consequences, the underlying neural mechanisms remain underexplored. Here, we employed functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate the neural correlates of hostile attribution bias. While undergoing fNIRS, male and female participants listened to and provided attribution ratings for 21 hypothetical scenarios where a character's actions resulted in a negative outcome for the listener. Ratings of hostile intentions were averaged to measure hostile attribution bias. Using intersubject representational similarity analysis, we found that participants with similar levels of hostile attribution bias exhibited higher levels of neural synchrony during narrative listening, suggesting shared interpretations of the scenarios. This effect was localized to the left ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and was particularly prominent in scenarios where the character's intentions were highly ambiguous. We then grouped participants into high and low bias groups based on a median split of their hostile attribution bias scores. A similarity-based classifier trained on the neural data classified participants as having high or low bias with 75% accuracy, indicating that the neural time courses during narrative listening was systematically different between the two groups. Furthermore, hostile attribution bias correlated negatively with attributional complexity, a measure of one's tendency to consider multifaceted causes when explaining behavior. Our study sheds light on the neural mechanisms underlying hostile attribution bias and highlights the potential of using fNIRS to develop nonintrusive and cost-effective neural markers of this sociocognitive bias.

Longitudinal Investigation of Alexithymia as a Predictor of Empathy, Emotional Functioning, Resilience, and Life Satisfaction 2 Years After Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the unique contribution of alexithymia at 1 year after traumatic brain injury (TBI) to the prospective prediction of emotional and social health outcomes at 2 years after injury. DESIGN: Multicenter, longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: Data were collected during year 1 and year 2 postinjury follow-up interviews across 4 TBI Model System centers. PARTICIPANTS: Persons with TBI (N=175; 134 men and 41 women) who had English fluency and were capable of providing self-reported data. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary independent variable was the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. Outcome measures included the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, National Institute of Health Toolbox Emotion Battery Anger, Difficulty with Emotion Regulation Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist - Civilian, Satisfaction with Life Scale, General Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire 9, suicidal ideation, and problematic substance use. RESULTS: Simple adjusted models demonstrated that after controlling for the specific outcome at year 1, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 scores significantly predicted year 2 scores for perspective-taking, physical aggression, emotional dysregulation, resilience, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. All of these predictive findings except for physical aggression were maintained in the fully adjusted models that also controlled for age, sex, education level, number of prior TBIs, and motor and cognitive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with those with lower alexithymia scores, persons with TBI who had higher alexithymia scores at 1 year after injury reported poorer emotional health at 2 years after TBI, even after controlling for year 1 outcome scores, sociodemographic characteristics, and injury-related factors. These results support the need to assess for elevated alexithymia and to provide interventions targeting alexithymia early in the TBI recovery process.

An Umbrella Review of Self-Management Interventions for Health Conditions With Symptom Overlap With Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To synthesize evidence for the effectiveness of self-management interventions for chronic health conditions that have symptom overlap with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in order to extract recommendations for self-management intervention in persons with TBI. DESIGN: An umbrella review of existing systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials or nonrandomized studies targeting self-management of chronic conditions and specific outcomes relevant to persons with TBI. METHOD: A comprehensive literature search of 5 databases was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Two independent reviewers conducted screening and data extraction using the Covidence web-based review platform. Quality assessment was conducted using criteria adapted from the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews-2 (AMSTAR-2). RESULTS: A total of 26 reviews met the inclusion criteria, covering a range of chronic conditions and a range of outcomes. Seven reviews were of moderate or high quality and focused on self-management in persons with stroke, chronic pain, and psychiatric disorders with psychotic features. Self-management interventions were found to have positive effects on quality of life, self-efficacy, hope, reduction of disability, pain, relapse and rehospitalization rates, psychiatric symptoms, and occupational and social functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Findings are encouraging with regard to the effectiveness of self-management interventions in patients with symptoms similar to those of TBI. However, reviews did not address adaptation of self-management interventions for those with cognitive deficits or for populations with greater vulnerabilities, such as low education and older adults. Adaptations for TBI and its intersection with these special groups may be needed.

Factors related to social inferencing performance in moderate-severe, chronic TBI.

OBJECTIVE: Following traumatic brain injury (TBI), deficits in social cognition are common. Social inferencing is a crucial component of social cognition that enables an individual to understand the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of a communication partner when this information is not explicitly stated. Existing literature suggests a variety of factors contribute to social inferencing success (e.g. biological sex, executive functioning), yet findings are not conclusive, largely because these factors have been examined in isolation. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, stepwise regression with cross validation was used to examine the extent that several theoretically motivated factors were associated with social inferencing (measured by performance on The Awareness of Social Inference Test [TASIT]) in adult participants with TBI (n = 105). Demographic information, executive functioning, aggression, emotional functioning measures, and participation in society were all examined in relation to social inferencing performance. RESULTS: The findings confirm the importance of higher-level cognitive skills (i.e. executive functioning) in social inferencing, and advance the literature by underlining the potential importance of productive participation in social inferencing performance. CONCLUSION: This study innovatively highlights factors linked with social inferencing skills and, in doing so, how deficits in social inferencing might manifest in the lives of individuals with TBI.

Coping With Chronic Pain After Traumatic Brain Injury: Role of Race/Ethnicity and Effect on Participation Outcomes in a TBI Model Systems Sample.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate catastrophizing and self-efficacy for managing pain among Non-Hispanic Whites, Non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics with chronic pain after traumatic brain injury (TBI), and whether coping interacts with race/ethnicity to predict participation outcomes. SETTING: Community after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. PARTICIPANTS: 621 individuals with moderate to severe TBI and chronic pain, who completed follow-up as part of a national longitudinal study of TBI and also participated in a collaborative study on chronic pain. DESIGN: Multicenter, cross-sectional, survey study. MAIN MEASURES: Catastrophizing subscale from the Coping With Pain Scale; Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire; Participation Assessment With Recombined Tools-Objective. RESULTS: After controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables, a significant interaction was observed between race/ethnicity and insurance status, such that Blacks who had public health insurance reported greater catastrophizing in response to pain compared with Whites. Race/ethnicity and self-efficacy for managing pain were unrelated. Greater catastrophizing was associated with lower participation but did not interact with race/ethnicity. Blacks reported lower participation relative to Whites, independent of catastrophizing. CONCLUSIONS: Black individuals who have TBI and chronic pain, and who have public insurance, may be vulnerable to difficulties managing pain. They are more likely to cope by catastrophizing, and catastrophizing is related to worse participation outcomes. The results suggest that access to care may affect response to chronic pain after TBI.

Disparities in Chronic Pain Experience and Treatment History Among Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine disparities in pain severity, pain interference, and history of pain treatment for non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and chronic pain. SETTING: Community following discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 621 individuals with medically documented moderate to severe TBI who had received acute trauma care and inpatient rehabilitation (440 non-Hispanic Whites, 111 non-Hispanic Blacks, and 70 Hispanics). DESIGN: A multicenter, cross-sectional, survey study. MAIN MEASURES: Brief Pain Inventory; receipt of opioid prescription; receipt of nonpharmacologic pain treatments; and receipt of comprehensive interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation. RESULTS: After controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables, non-Hispanic Blacks reported greater pain severity and greater pain interference relative to non-Hispanic Whites. Race/ethnicity interacted with age, such that the differences between Whites and Blacks were greater for older participants (for severity and interference) and for those with less than a high school education (for interference). There were no differences found between the racial/ethnic groups in the odds of having ever received pain treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Among individuals with TBI who report chronic pain, non-Hispanic Blacks may be more vulnerable to difficulties managing pain severity and to interference of pain in activities and mood. Systemic biases experienced by many Black individuals with regard to social determinants of health must be considered in a holistic approach to assessing and treating chronic pain in individuals with TBI.

Examination of Social Inferencing Skills in Men and Women After Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To examine sex differences in social inferencing deficits after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to examine the odds of men and women being impaired while controlling for potential confounders. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Two TBI rehabilitation hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred five participants with TBI (60 men, 45 women) and 105 controls without TBI (57 men, 48 women) (N=210). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), which includes (1) Emotion Evaluation Test (EET), (2) Social Inference-Minimal (SI-M) test, and (3) Social Inference-Enriched (SI-E) test. RESULTS: Within the control sample, men and women performed similarly on all 3 TASIT subtests. Within the group with TBI, men had significantly lower scores than women on EET (P=.03), SI-M (P=.01), and SI-E (P=.04). Using impairment cutoffs derived from the sample without TBI, we found significantly more men with TBI (30%) were impaired on the EET than women (16.7%); impairment was similar between men and women on SI-M and SI-E. When adjusting for executive functioning and education, the odds of being impaired on the EET did not significantly differ for men and women (odds ratio, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.16-1.40; P=.18). CONCLUSIONS: Although more men with TBI have emotion perception deficits than women, the difference appears to be driven by education and executive functioning. Research is needed in larger samples with more definitive norms to better understand social inferencing impairments in men and women with TBI as well as translation to interpersonal behaviors.

Anxiety Trajectories the First 10 Years After a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): A TBI Model Systems Study.

OBJECTIVE: Determine anxiety trajectories and predictors up to 10 years posttraumatic brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal, observational study. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation centers. PARTICIPANTS: 2836 participants with moderate to severe TBI enrolled in the TBI Model Systems National Database who had ≥2 anxiety data collection points (N=2836). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) at 1, 2, 5, and 10-year follow-ups. RESULTS: Linear mixed models showed higher GAD-7 scores were associated with Black race (P<.001), public insurance (P<.001), pre-injury mental health treatment (P<.001), 2 additional TBIs with loss of consciousness (P=.003), violent injury (P=.047), and more years post-TBI (P=.023). An interaction between follow-up year and age was also related to GAD-7 scores (P=.006). A latent class mixed model identified 3 anxiety trajectories: low-stable (n=2195), high-increasing (n=289), and high-decreasing (n=352). The high-increasing and high-decreasing groups had mild or higher GAD-7 scores up to 10 years. Compared to the low-stable group, the high-decreasing group was more likely to be Black (OR=2.25), have public insurance (OR=2.13), have had pre-injury mental health treatment (OR=1.77), and have had 2 prior TBIs (OR=3.16). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial minority of participants had anxiety symptoms that either increased (10%) or decreased (13%) over 10 years but never decreased below mild anxiety. Risk factors of anxiety included indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage (public insurance) and racial inequities (Black race) as well as having had pre-injury mental health treatment and 2 prior TBIs. Awareness of these risk factors may lead to identifying and proactively referring susceptible individuals to mental health services.

Negative Attribution Bias and Related Risk Factors After Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: In participants with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and peer controls, examine (1) differences in negative attributions (interpret ambiguous behaviors negatively); (2) cognitive and emotional factors associated with negative attributions; and (3) negative attribution associations with anger responses, life satisfaction, and participation. SETTING: Two TBI outpatient rehabilitation centers. PARTICIPANTS: Participants with complicated mild to severe TBI (n = 105) and peer controls (n = 105). DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study. MAIN MEASURES: Hypothetical scenarios describing ambiguous behaviors were used to assess situational anger and attributions of intent, hostility, and blame. Executive functioning, perspective taking, emotion perception and social inference, alexithymia, aggression, anxiety, depression, participation, and life satisfaction were also assessed. RESULTS: Compared with peer controls, participants with TBI rated behaviors significantly more intentional, hostile, and blameworthy. Regression models explained a significant amount of attribution variance (25%-43%). Aggression was a significant predictor in all models; social inference was also a significant predictor of intent and hostility attributions. Negative attributions were associated with anger responses and lower life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: People with TBI who have higher trait aggression and poor social inferencing skills may be prone to negative interpretations of people's ambiguous actions. Negative attributions and social inferencing skills should be considered when treating anger problems after TBI.

Marital Stability Over 10 Years Following Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the stability of marriage from the time of traumatic brain injury (TBI) to 10 years postinjury. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. SETTING: TBI Model Systems centers. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 1423 participants in the TBI Model Systems National Database who experienced TBI 10 years prior and were married at the time of injury. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Remaining married to the same partner from the time of injury to 10-year follow-up. RESULTS: At 10 years, 66% (938) remained married to the same person. Significant associations were found with age at injury (P < .0001), sex (P = .0028), and preinjury problematic substance use (P = .0092). Marital stability over the 10-year period was higher for those who were older, were female, and had no problematic substance use history. Marital instability was greatest in the first year postinjury. CONCLUSIONS: Most married adults who received inpatient rehabilitation for TBI remained married to the same individual 10 years later. Those who were younger, were male, and had a history of problematic substance use were at a highest risk for relationship dissolution. Findings have implications for content, timing, and delivery of marital interventions. Substance use education and prevention appear to be important aspects of marital support.

Evaluating Negative Attributions in Persons With Brain Injury: A Comparison of 2 Measures.

OBJECTIVES: To compare construct and predictive validity, readability, and time-to-administer of 2 negative attribution measures in participants with traumatic brain injury (TBI). SETTING: Two TBI rehabilitation hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-five adults with complicated mild to severe TBI. MAIN MEASURES: Negative attributions (intent, hostility, and blame) and anger responses to hypothetical scenarios were measured with the Epps scenarios and the Ambiguous Intention Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ). Trait aggression was measured with the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ). RESULTS: Associations between attributions and anger responses (ie, construct validity) within each measure were significant (Epps: r = 0.61-0.74; AIHQ: r = 0.39-0.71); however, associations were stronger for Epps (Ps < .001). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) revealed attributions from both measures predicted BPAQ scores (area under the ROC curves = 0.6-0.8); predictive validity did not statistically differ between the 2 measures. Both had comparable readability (fifth- to sixth-grade levels), but Epps required longer administration times. CONCLUSION: Negative attributions affect anger and aggression after TBI, making it important to identify suitable assessments for the TBI population. While psychometric properties of the AIHQ and Epps scenarios should be further explored, this study offers early support for the use of either instrument in persons with TBI. Advantages and disadvantages of the AIHQ and Epps scenarios are highlighted.

Demographic and Mental Health Predictors of Arrests Up to 10 Years Post-Traumatic Brain Injury: A Veterans Affairs TBI Model Systems Study.

OBJECTIVE: Examine rates and predictors of arrests in Veterans and Service Members (V/SM) who received inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI). SETTING: Veterans Administration (VA) Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 948 V/SM drawn from the VA TBI Model Systems cohort with arrest data up to 10 years post-TBI. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study; secondary analysis of pre-TBI characteristics predicting post-TBI arrests. MAIN MEASURES: Disclosure of arrests pre-TBI and up to10 years post-TBI. RESULTS: Thirty-six percent of the sample had been arrested prior to their TBI; 7% were arrested post-TBI. When considering all variables simultaneously in a multivariate model, pre-TBI mental health treatment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 4.30; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.03-9.14), pre-TBI heavy alcohol use (aOR = 3.04; CI: 1.08-8.55), and number of follow-up interviews (aOR = 2.05; CI: 1.39-4.50) were significant predictors of post-TBI arrest. CONCLUSION: Arrest rates of V/SM prior to TBI were consistent with rates of arrest for people of similar ages in the United States. Post-TBI rates were lower for V/SM than published rates of post-TBI arrests in civilians with TBI. As part of rehabilitation planning for V/SM with TBI, providers should assess for preinjury mental health services and alcohol misuse to (1) identify those who may be at risk for postinjury arrests and (2) provide relevant resources and/or supports.

Sex Differences in Emotional Insight After Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVE: To compare sex differences in alexithymia (poor emotional processing) in males and females with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and uninjured controls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: TBI rehabilitation facility in the United States and a university in Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty adults with moderate to severe TBI (62% men) and 60 uninjured controls (63% men) (N=120). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20). RESULTS: Uninjured men had significantly higher (worse) alexithymia scores than uninjured female participants on the TAS-20 (P=.007), whereas, no sex differences were found in the TBI group (P=.698). Men and women with TBI had significantly higher alexithymia compared with uninjured same-sex controls (both P<.001). The prevalence of participants with scores exceeding alexithymia sex-based norms for men and women with TBI was 37.8% and 47.8%, respectively, compared with 7.9% and 0% for men and women without TBI. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to most findings in the general population, men with TBI were not more alexithymic than their female counterparts with TBI. Both men and women with TBI have more severe alexithymia than their uninjured same-sex peers. Moreover, both are equally at risk for elevated alexithymia compared with the norms. Alexithymia should be evaluated and treated after TBI regardless of patient sex.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Contribute to Staff Perceived Irritability, Anger, and Aggression After TBI in a Longitudinal Veteran Cohort: A VA TBI Model Systems Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between staff perceived irritability, anger, and aggression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) of all severity levels. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort design. SETTING: Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Programs. PARTICIPANTS: Veterans and service members with TBI of all severity levels enrolled in the Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers' Traumatic Brain Injury Model System national database (N=240). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Univariable and multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association between irritability, anger, and aggression and potential risk factors, including PTSD symptoms. Irritability, anger, and aggression was measured as a single construct using an item from the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 that was rated by program staff at admission and discharge from the inpatient rehabilitation program. PTSD symptoms were assessed using the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version. RESULTS: PTSD symptoms uniquely predicted program staff-rated irritability, anger, and aggression at discharge even after controlling for severity of TBI, age, male sex, education, and annual earnings. The model explained 19% of the variance in irritability, anger, and aggression. CONCLUSIONS: When TBI severity and PTSD symptoms were considered simultaneously in a sample of veterans, only PTSD symptoms predicted staff-rated irritability, anger, and aggression. Given the negative outcomes linked with irritability, anger, and aggression, veterans may benefit from assessment and treatment of PTSD symptoms within rehabilitation settings.

Assessing Negative Attributions After Brain Injury With the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire.

OBJECTIVES: (1) To explore the construct validity of the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ) in participants with traumatic brain injury (TBI) (ie, confirm negative attributions are associated with anger and aggression); and (2) use the AIHQ to examine negative attribution differences between participants with and without TBI. SETTING: Two rehabilitation hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-five adults with TBI and 86 healthy controls (HCs). DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. MAIN MEASURES: The AIHQ, a measure of negative attributions (intent, hostility, and blame), anger, and aggressive responses to hypothetical scenarios. RESULTS: Attributions were significantly correlated with anticipated anger and aggressive responses to AIHQ scenarios. Compared with HCs, participants with TBI reported stronger negative attributions (P ≤ .001), anger (P = .021), and aggressive responses (P = .002) to the scenarios. CONCLUSION: Negative attributions were associated with anger and aggression responses, demonstrating construct validity of the AIHQ in the TBI population. Participants with TBI judged others' behaviors more severely than HCs, similar to prior research using a different attribution measure. The AIHQ has promise as a practical instrument for assessing negative attributions after TBI.

Empathic Responses to Affective Film Clips Following Brain Injury and the Association With Emotion Recognition Accuracy.

OBJECTIVE: To compare empathic responses to affective film clips in participants with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and controls, and examine associations with affect recognition. DESIGN: Cross sectional study using a quasi-experimental design. SETTING: Multi-site study conducted at a postacute rehabilitation facility in the United States and a university in Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Adults (N=120) with moderate to severe TBI (n=60) and those without TBI (n=60), frequency matched for age and sex. Average time postinjury was 14 years (range: .5-37). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were shown affective film clips and asked to report how the main character in the clip felt and how they personally felt in response to the clip. Empathic responses were operationalized as participants feeling the same emotion they identified the character to be feeling. RESULTS: Participants with TBI had lower emotion recognition scores (P=.007) and fewer empathic responses than controls (67% vs 79%; P<.001). Participants with TBI accurately identified and empathically responded to characters' emotions less frequently (65%) than controls (78%). Participants with TBI had poorer recognition scores and fewer empathic responses to sad and fearful clips compared to controls. Affect recognition was associated with empathic responses in both groups (P<.001). When participants with TBI accurately recognized characters' emotions, they had an empathic response 71% of the time, which was more than double their empathic responses for incorrectly identified emotions. CONCLUSIONS: Participants with TBI were less likely to recognize and respond empathically to others' expressions of sadness and fear, which has implications for interpersonal interactions and relationships. This is the first study in the TBI population to demonstrate a direct association between an affect stimulus and an empathic response.

Investigation of a New Couples Intervention for Individuals With Brain Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to (1) examine the efficacy of a treatment to enhance a couple's relationship after brain injury particularly in relationship satisfaction and communication; and (2) determine couples' satisfaction with this type of intervention. DESIGN: Randomized waitlist-controlled trial. SETTING: Midwestern outpatient brain injury rehabilitation center. PARTICIPANTS: Participants (N=44; 22 persons with brain injury and their intimate partners) were randomized by couples to the intervention or waitlist-controlled group, with 11 couples in each group. INTERVENTIONS: The Couples Caring and Relating with Empathy intervention is a 16-week, 2-hour, manualized small group treatment utilizing psychoeducation, affect recognition, empathy training, cognitive-behavioral and dialectical-behavioral strategies, communication skills training, and Gottman's theoretical framework for couples adjusted for individuals with brain injury. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Quality of Marriage Index (QMI), and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse communication questionnaire were implemented. Measures were completed by the person with brain injury and that person's partner at 3 time points: baseline, immediate postintervention, 3-month follow-up. RESULTS: The experimental group showed significant improvement at posttest and follow-up on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Horsemen questionnaire compared to baseline and to the waitlist-controlled group which showed no significant changes on these measures. No significant effects were observed on the QMI for either group. Satisfaction scores were largely favorable. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest this intervention can improve couples' dyadic adjustment and communication after brain injury. High satisfaction ratings suggest this small group intervention is feasible with couples following brain injury. Future directions for this intervention are discussed.

Rasch Analysis, Dimensionality, and Scoring of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Irritability and Aggression Subscales in Individuals With Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVES: To develop, for versions completed by individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and an observer, a more precise metric for the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Irritability and Aggression subscales using all behavioral item ratings for use with individuals with TBI and to address the dimensionality of the represented behavioral domains. DESIGN: Rasch and confirmatory factor analyses of retrospective baseline NPI data from 3 treatment studies. SETTING: Postacute rehabilitation clinic. PARTICIPANTS: NPI records (N = 525) consisting of observer ratings (n = 287) and self-ratings (n = 238) by participants with complicated mild, moderate, or severe TBI at least 6 months postinjury. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Frequency and severity ratings from NPI Irritability/Lability and Agitation/Aggression subscales. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses of both observer and participant ratings showed good fit for either a 1-factor or a 2-factor solution. Consistent with this, the Rasch model also fit the data well with aggression items indicating the more severe end of the construct and irritability items populating the milder end. CONCLUSIONS: Irritability and aggression appear to represent different levels of severity of a single construct. The derived Rasch metric offers a measure of this construct based on responses to all specific items that is appropriate for parametric statistical analysis and may be useful in research and clinical assessments of individuals with TBI.

Sex differences in response to emotion recognition training after traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To examine sex differences in the effectiveness of a Stories intervention for teaching affect recognition in people with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). SETTING: Post-acute rehabilitation facilities. PARTICIPANTS: 203 participants (53 women and 150 men) with moderate to severe TBI were screened. 71 were eligible and randomized to one of three treatment conditions: two affect recognition conditions and an active control (cognition). This paper examines sex differences between the Stories intervention (n = 23, 5 women and 18 men) and the cognitive treatment control (n = 24, 8 women and 16 men). DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial with immediate, 3- and 6-month follow-up post-tests. Interventions were 9 hours of computer-based training with a therapist. MEASURES: Facial Affect Recognition (DANVA2-AF); Emotional Inference from Stories Test (EIST). RESULTS: A significant treatment effect was observed for the Stories intervention for women, who demonstrated and maintained improved facial affect recognition. In contrast, males in our sample did not benefit from the Stories intervention. CONCLUSION: This positive finding for the Stories intervention for females contrasts with our conclusions in a previous paper, where an analysis collapsed across sex did not reveal an overall effectiveness of the Stories intervention. This intervention warrants further research and development.

Negative Attribution Bias and Anger After Traumatic Brain Injury.

OBJECTIVES: Negative attributions pertain to judgments of intent, hostility, and blame regarding others' behaviors. This study compared negative attributions made by people with and without traumatic brain injury (TBI) and examined the degree to which these negative attributions predicted angry ratings in response to situations. SETTING: Outpatient rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-six adults with moderate to severe TBI and 49 healthy controls. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study using a quasi-experimental research design. MAIN MEASURES: In response to hypothetical scenarios, participants rated how irritated and angry they would be, and how intentional, hostile, and blameworthy they perceived characters' behaviors. There were 3 scenario types differentiated by the portrayal of characters' actions: benign, ambiguous, or hostile. All scenarios theoretically resulted in unpleasant outcomes for participants. RESULTS: Participants with TBI had significantly higher ratings for feeling "irritated" and "angry" and attributions of "intent," "hostility," and "blame" compared with healthy controls for all scenario types. Negative attribution ratings accounted for 72.4% and 65.3% of the anger rating variance for participants with and without TBI, respectively. CONCLUSION: People with TBI may have negative attribution bias, in which they disproportionately judge the intent, hostility, and blameworthiness of others' behaviors. These attributions contributed to their ratings of feeling angry. This suggests that participants with TBI who have anger problems should be evaluated for this bias, and anger treatments should possibly aim to alter negative attributions. However, before implementing clinical practice changes, there is a need for replication with larger samples, and further investigation of the characteristics associated with negative attribution bias.