Accession Number:

ADA616896

Title:

Soldier Beliefs about the Readiness of Military Personnel with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Descriptive Note:

Final rept.

Corporate Author:

ARMY AEROMEDICAL RESEARCH LAB FORT RUCKER AL

Personal Author(s):

• Britt, Thomas W.
• Ranes, Bethany
• Kelley, Amanda M.
• Grandizio, Catherine
• Gaydos, Steven J.

Report Date:

2014-05-19

Pagination or Media Count:

21.0

Abstract:

The present study examined military perceptions of Soldiers with mild traumatic brain injury mTBI. U.S. Army Soldiers N 391 read and responded to one of five scenarios described in a survey. The scenarios involved a hypothetical Soldier who had returned from combat duty in Afghanistan. In four versions of the scenario, the Soldier sustained an mTBI, and in one version, he sustained no injury. In the four mTBI scenarios, the Soldier presented symptoms of a specific nature vestibular, cognitive, physiological, or psychological. Results indicated that the Soldier was judged lower in perceived readiness and required more special accommodations for reintegration in comparison to the control condition, and that the different symptoms that occurred with the mTBI did not affect his evaluation. Soldiers of higher rank perceived that he would require greater accommodations to reintegrate into the unit. These results are some of the first to shed light on Soldiers attitudes associated with mTBI in a military setting, and highlight the importance of future research on perceptions of the effect of mTBI in military personnel.

Descriptors:

• *ATTITUDES(PSYCHOLOGY)
• *TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES
• MILITARY PERSONNEL
• OPERATIONAL READINESS
• SCENARIOS

Subject Categories:

• Psychology
• Medicine and Medical Research
• Military Forces and Organizations

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE