Measuring emotional suppression in caregivers of adults with traumatic brain injury.
Noelle E Carlozzi, Michael A Kallen, Tracey A Brickell and 10 others
PMID 31580109WHAT IT FOUND
A new brief questionnaire reliably measures emotional suppression in caregivers of adults with traumatic brain injury.
It identifies caregivers at risk for negative outcomes in under a minute, allowing therapists to spot those needing support for hiding their feelings.
Key findings
01The new Emotional Suppression item bank is reliable and valid for both civilian and military/veteran caregivers, with no floor or ceiling effects.
02Caregivers of individuals with lower functional status report significantly higher levels of emotional suppression than those caring for high-functioning individuals.
03The short form and computer adaptive test versions take less than one minute to administer and correlate strongly with the full item bank.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study did not include a criterion measure of emotional suppression, so correlations with other constructs were slightly lower than expected. The measure has not yet been tested for responsiveness to change over time, so it is unknown if it can track treatment effects. Participants were predominantly female, so generalizability to male caregivers is not established. The two caregiver groups (civilian and military/veteran) differed in age, relationship to the patient, and TBI severity, which may influence score differences. Functional status of the person with TBI was assessed via caregiver proxy (MPAI-4), which may be subjective.
Declared interests
Not reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this measure tracks progress in therapy or treatment outcomes. The study establishes that the tool is reliable for identifying caregivers who suppress emotions, but it has not yet been tested for responsiveness to change over time.