Community attitudes toward individuals with traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Explicit and implicit attitudes toward people who have sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI) were investigated to determine if negative attitudes exist and if the terminology used (brain vs. head injury) exacerbated predicted negativity. Participants (n = 103) rated Tony (brain/head injury) and Peter (limb-injury) on 10 characteristics using a 7-point scale. Familiarity with brain injury was also measured. Implicit Association Tests (IAT) assessed potential negative bias. Tony (M = 36.84) was judged more negatively than Peter (M = 31.69). The term "brain" versus "head" injury resulted in more negative evaluations (Ms = 38.72 vs. 34.78). Participants familiar with TBI were more positive toward Tony than those unfamiliar (Ms = 34.98 vs. 39.80). Only those unfamiliar with TBI demonstrated implicit negative bias. Negative attitudes toward TBI are expressed explicitly with individuals openly endorsing less desirable characteristics. When people have more knowledge about or experience with brain injury, they are less likely to endorse negative stereotypes.

The Effect of Environmental Barriers on Community Integration for Individuals With Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

“…33,34 The current findings support this and a need for continued efforts to promote awareness of ABI in the community. Previous research has described ABI as a "hidden disability," noting the challenges associated with a lack of awareness and understanding of the nature of brain injury among people in the wider community.…”

Acquired brain injury services in the Republic of Ireland: Experiences and perceptions of families and professionals

“…It has previously been found that those unfamiliar with traumatic brain injury were more likely to hold negative biases [37]. Furthermore, previous research has also identified that even professionals familiar with ABI can possess prejudicial attitudes, particularly if there is the sense that the patient may be to blame for their injury [38].…”

Diagnostic terminology is not associated with contact-sport players’ expectations of outcome from mild traumatic brain injury

“…Parents nominated fewer days before they felt their child would be ready to return-to-play when the terminology concussion was used compared to other diagnostic termin- The adult injury studies from Table I show that terminology can influence the stigmatization by members of the public of adults who have sustained an mTBI [12,13]. That is, when a hypothetical person with a history of mTBI is labelled as brain injured as opposed to head injured, the public is more likely to associate that person with more negative attributes [12,13].…”

“…That is, when a hypothetical person with a history of mTBI is labelled as brain injured as opposed to head injured, the public is more likely to associate that person with more negative attributes [12,13]. Similarly, when the public rated perceptions of a motor vehicle accident (MVA) related injury that was diagnosed as an mTBI as opposed to a diagnosis of minor head injury (MHI) or concussion, they typically perceive worse consequences [14], including symptoms typically associated with other conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder [14], unless the diagnosis is conveyed with other information (i.e.…”