Citation

Plass AM, Van Praag D, Covic A, Gorbunova A, Real R, von Steinbuechel N. PLoS One 2019; 14(10): e0210138.

Affiliation

Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG)/ Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Public Library of Science)

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0210138

PMID

31647814

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most common neurological conditions. It can have wide-ranging physical, cognitive and psychosocial effects. Most people recover within weeks to months after the injury, but a substantial proportion are at risk of developing lasting post-concussion symptoms. The Rivermead Post-Concussion Syndrome Questionnaire (RPQ) is a short validated 16-items self-report instrument to evaluate post-concussive symptoms. The aim of this study was to test psychometrics characteristics of the current Dutch translation of the RPQ.

METHODS: To determine the psychometric characteristics of the Dutch RPQ, 472 consecutive patients six months after they presented with a traumatic brain injury in seven medical centers in the Netherlands (N = 397), and in two in Belgium (Flanders) (N = 75) took part in the study which is part of the large prospective longitudinal observational CENTER-TBI-EU-study. Psychometric properties at six months post TBI, were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Sensitivity was analyzed by comparing RPQ scores and self-reported recovery status of patients with mild vs. moderate and severe TBI.

FINDINGS: The Dutch version of RPQ proved good, showing excellent psychometric characteristics: high internal consistency (Cronbach's α.93), and good construct validity, being sensitive to self-reported recovery status at six months post TBI. Moreover, data showed a good fit to the three dimensional structure of separate cognitive, emotional and somatic factors (Chi2 = 119; df = 117; p =.4; CFI =.99; RMSEA =.006), reported earlier in the literature.

DISCUSSION: Psychometric characteristics of the Dutch version of RPQ proved excellent to good, and can the instrument therefore be applied for research purposes and in daily clinical practice.

Language: en