The Utility of the Post-concussive Symptom Questionnaire

Abstract

The Post-concussive Symptom Questionnaire (PCSQ) and its short forms were evaluated to determine their utility in measuring symptom validity as brief self-report measures in 112 individuals referred for a neuropsychological evaluation. First, the relationships between the PCSQ forms and measures of cognitive performance (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition Full-Scale IQ, California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition Trials 1-5 Total T-score, Trails B, FAS), general distress (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI]-2 M8), and self-report symptom validity (MMPI-2 FBS Symptom Validity Scale [FBS] and Response Bias Scale [RBS]) were investigated to determine construct validity. Measures of self-report symptom validity explained the greatest amount of variance. Second, receiver operating characteristics curve analyses were conducted to determine the predictive value of the PCSQ forms in detecting over reporting on the FBS and the RBS in addition to establishing optimal cutoff scores. On the basis of the proposed cutoff scores, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, negative predictive power, and hit rates were calculated.

Symptom Complaints Following Reports of Blast Versus Non-Blast Mild TBI: Does Mechanism of Injury Matter?

“…Frequently, self-reported cognitive symptoms are poorly correlated with objective measures of cognitive performance (Binder et al, 1999;Lindem et al, 2003;Spencer, Drag, Walker, & Bieliauskas, 2010;Van Dyke, Axelrod, & Schutte, 2010). However, complaints of hearing difficulties in those exposed to explosives (the only symptom complaint that differed in this study between those injured via Blast compared to those injured via Non-blast) may well be due to tympanic membrane injury.…”

Symptom and performance validity assessment in forensic neuropsychology.

“…Two shorter versions of the PCSQ have been developed on the basis of Rasch analysis, including the Postconcussive Symptom Questionnaire 19-item short form (PCSQ-19;, and on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to identify items discriminating individuals with questionable performance validity (i.e., PCSQ Negative Impression Management [PCSQ-NIM]; Tsanadis et al, 2007). Van Dyke, Axelrod, and Schutte (2010) compared the PCSQ, PCSQ-19, and PCSQ-NIM in a sample of veterans (N = 112) with neurologic and psychiatric complaints. Participants were grouped on the basis of overreporting identified by elevations on the MMPI-2's RBS and FBS scales.…”