Neurobehavioral Symptom Profiles for the Behavioral Assessment Screening Tool in Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury.
Shannon B Juengst, Brittany Wright, Annalyn DeMello and 4 others
PMID 38652671WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with chronic TBI fell into three distinct symptom profiles: High-Risk (mostly younger men with high substance misuse and impulsivity), Moderate-Risk, and High Negative Affect (mostly women with mild TBI and low other symptoms).
These patterns suggest tailoring screening and intervention based on demographic and symptom clusters rather than treating TBI symptoms as a single uniform block.
Key findings
01Latent profile analysis identified three distinct groups: a High-Risk group with the highest scores for Executive Dysfunction, Substance Misuse, and Impulsivity; a High Negative Affect group with the lowest scores across most domains; and a Moderate-Risk group.
02The High-Risk profile was composed of the most men and the youngest participants, while the High Negative Affect profile had the highest proportion of women and those with mild TBI.
03The High-Risk group reported substance misuse in problematic ranges, including occasional recreational drug use and binge drinking, potentially requiring immediate intervention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was predominantly White and had post-high school education, limiting generalizability to other demographic groups. Time since injury varied widely from three months to decades, which may influence symptom expression. The study pooled data from different cohorts where some variables were not consistently collected, preventing item-level analysis and deeper exploration of clinical factors. The relationship between injury severity and symptom profiles was complex, with only a trend toward significance, and prior literature shows inconsistent associations between mild TBI and symptom severity. Self-report measures may be influenced by social desirability bias, particularly regarding gender differences in symptom reporting.
Declared interests
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and non-US government sources. No specific commercial conflicts of interest were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that patients with mild TBI have fewer neurobehavioral symptoms overall. While the High Negative Affect group (mostly mild TBI) reported low scores in most domains, they did not differ significantly from other groups in Fatigue, and negative affect remained a key feature. Additionally, do not generalize these profiles to acute TBI populations, as this study focused on chronic outcomes.