Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology
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J Clin Exp Neuropsychol · Nov 2010
Influence of poor effort on self-reported symptoms and neurocognitive test performance following mild traumatic brain injury.
When considering a diagnosis of postconcussion syndrome, clinicians must systematically evaluate and eliminate the possible contribution of many differential diagnoses, comorbidities, and factors that may cause or maintain self-reported symptoms long after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). One potentially significant contributing factor is symptom exaggeration. The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of poor effort on self-reported symptoms (postconcussion symptoms and cognitive complaints) and neurocognitive test performance following MTBI. ⋯ Similarly, there were significant main effects and/or large effect sizes on the S-NAB. Patients in the TOMM fail group performed more poorly on the Attention (p = .004, d = 1.26), Memory (p = .006, d = 1.16), and Executive Functioning (p > .05, d = 0.70) indexes. These results highlight the importance of considering the influence of poor effort, in conjunction with a growing list of factors that can influence, maintain, and/or mimic the persistent postconcussion syndrome.