Citation

Bailie JM, Cole WR, Ivins B, Boyd C, Lewis S, Neff J, Schwab K. J. Head Trauma Rehabil. 2014; 30(1): 12-20.

Affiliation

Defense and Veteran's Brain Injury Center, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California, and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, Bethesda, Maryland (Drs Bailie and Boyd); The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. and the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Washington, District of Columbia (Ms Ivins); Defense and Veteran's Brain Injury Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, Bethesda, Maryland (Dr Cole); Department of Traumatic Brain Injury Womack Army Medical Center and Defense and Veteran's Brain Injury Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Dr Lewis); Rehabilitation Medicine, United States Navy, and Defense and Veteran's Brain Injury Center, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, California (Dr Neff); and Epidemiology & Research Support Services, Defense and Veteran's Brain Injury Center, Washington, District of Columbia (Dr Schwab).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/HTR.0000000000000024

PMID

24590149

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: To investigate the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on the experience and expression of anger in a military sample. PARTICIPANTS:: A total of 661 military personnel with a history of TBI and 1204 military personnel with no history of TBI. DESIGN:: Cross-sectional, between-group design, using multivariate analysis of variance. MAIN MEASURE:: State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2). RESULTS:: Participants with a history of TBI had higher scores on the STAXI-2 than controls and were 2 to 3 times more likely than the participants in the control group to have at least 1 clinically significant elevation on the STAXI-2. Results suggested that greater time since injury (ie, months between TBI and assessment) was associated with lower scores on the STAXI-2 State Anger scale. CONCLUSION:: Although the results do not take into account confounding psychiatric conditions and cannot address causality, they suggest that a history of TBI increases the risk of problems with the experience, expression, and control of anger. This bolsters the need for proper assessment of anger when evaluating TBI in a military cohort.

Language: en