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Impact of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Information on Perceptions of Illness

Cook, Carolyn M
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1562589809804291

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences).
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a significant public health concern and has been a frequent topic in the media in recent years. Over the past decade, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which has been suggested to be the result of repeated concussions and to involve symptoms such as deterioration in attention, concentration, and memory, among others, has also become the subject of much media attention. However, media articles about CTE often involve personal stories and anecdotes rather than any discussion of the limited CTE research. This is problematic because individuals who have sustained one or multiple mTBIs often use information from the media, along with information from other sources, such as healthcare providers and family members, to form beliefs about the identity, severity, consequences, and timeline of their injury and recovery. Media articles that sensationalize CTE or rely solely on personal anecdotes may lead individuals to form beliefs about their injury and expected recovery that are incorrect. Individuals who form such erroneous beliefs may be at increased risk of experiencing persistent symptoms after mTBI. The present study examined the impact of reading different types of CTE information on symptom endorsement, illness beliefs, and self-reported impairment in individuals with a history of mTBI. Amazon Mechanical Turk (mTurk) was used to recruit individuals with a history of mTBI, who were randomly assigned to read one of four articles. Participants (final N = 266 after exclusionary criteria) either read that symptoms after mTBI are severe and long-lasting, severe but not long-lasting, mild but long-lasting, or mild and not long-lasting. All participants completed self-report measures of illness perceptions and functional impairment as well as baseline questionnaires about demographics and mTBI history, health anxiety, neuroticism, and psychological distress. Contrary to expectations, there were no overall differences between groups on measures of illness perceptions or functional impairment. However, health anxiety moderated the relationship between severity and cogniphobia in females only such that at high levels of health anxiety, women who read that mTBI symptoms are severe reported greater fear that cognitive exertion might make symptoms worse or result in permanent brain damage. Overall, results suggest that, in individuals with a history of mTBI who do not have psychological risk factors, briefly reading information stating that the symptoms of mTBI are severe and/or long-lasting does not significantly increase their symptom endorsement or negatively impact their illness beliefs. However, individuals high in baseline health anxiety may be more susceptible to information about the severity of symptoms after mTBI. Overall, results have implications for treatment of individuals who experience persistent symptoms after mTBI.
Julie Suhr, PhD (Advisor)
100 p.
Clinical Psychology
CTE; illness perceptions

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cook, C. M. (2019). Impact of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Information on Perceptions of Illness [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1562589809804291

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cook, Carolyn. Impact of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Information on Perceptions of Illness. 2019. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1562589809804291.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cook, Carolyn. "Impact of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Information on Perceptions of Illness." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1562589809804291

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1562589809804291
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© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.