An examination of the factor structure of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire modified for adults with mild traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: Factors influencing outcome after mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) remain poorly understood. In other health conditions patient illness perceptions have been associated with outcome and have provided targets for effective interventions. These have not been systematically explored in MTBI and identifying reliable and valid measures of illness perceptions in MTBI is a first step before such concepts can be explored in clinical and research settings.
METHOD: This study investigated the factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the Illness Perceptions Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) modified for MTBI in a sample of 147 adults recruited within 3 months of injury.
RESULTS: The results demonstrated a close replication of the original factor structure although there were notable exceptions likely to be specific to MTBI and potentially other acutely injured populations. Final scales showed good internal consistency although factors relating to causal attribution were less so.
CONCLUSION: The IPQ-R (MTBI) provides an acceptable measure of key components of injury perceptions after MTBI. Minor refinements appear required if this measure is to make a contribution to research and clinical practice in injury-based populations such as MTBI.