Resilience and recovery from mild traumatic brain injury
Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Despite extensive research, there is considerable diversity and debate concerning the expected recovery course and the etiology of persistent symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). In recent years, resilience, which is defined as an ability to recover from adversity, has emerged as one potential psychological construct associated with outcome from MTBI. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the Resilience Scale (RS) and its short version (RS-14), their use in MTBI research, and to examine the association between resilience and outcome from MTBI. In addition, this study aimed to thoroughly and prospectively report the recovery from MTBI in previously healthy adults. The psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the RS were examined with a convenience sample of 243 participants. Working aged participants with MTBI (n=74) without pre-injury neurological or mental health problems and orthopedically injured trauma controls (n=40) were recruited from the Emergency Department of Tampere University Hospital. Participants filled out self-report questionnaires about demographic variables, resilience, post-concussion symptoms, fatigue, insomnia, pain, post-traumatic stress, depressive symptoms, and quality of life at 1, 6, and 12 months following injury. Neuropsychological examination was conducted for the patients with MTBI and for the controls at 1 month after injury and for the MTBI group at 6 months. Data regarding return to work of the MTBI group was also gathered. The Finnish version of the Resilience Scale (RS) and its short version (RS-14) have good psychometric properties and can be reliably used in MTBI research. Greater resilience was associated with fewer post-concussive symptoms and better quality of life, whereas lower resilience was associated with more symptoms and lower quality of life. Resilience was also a significant predictor of self-reported fatigue following MTBI even when controlling for factors known to be associated with fatigue (depression, sleep disorders, and pain). In this sample of previously healthy adults, MTBI had a good prognosis. By six months following injury, patients with MTBI did not differ as a group from non-head injury trauma controls on cognition, fatigue, or mental health, and by 12 months their level of post-concussion symptoms and quality of life was similar to that of controls. Almost all (96%) patients with MTBI returned to work/normal activities (RTW) within the follow-up of one year. Patients reporting ongoing mild post-concussion syndrome (PCS) at the 12-month follow-up did not have more severe brain or bodily injuries than those without PCS. A large percentage (62.5%) of those with persistent PCS had a modifiable psychological risk factor (i.e., depression, possible post-traumatic stress disorder, and/or low resilience) at the beginning of recovery.
Source: Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
Author: Heidi Losoi
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Neurology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1897325209