INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 03 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 09:30 am - 10:40 am Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 03: Neurotrauma \| Neurovascular Final Abstract #27 The Differing Relationship Between Identity Issues and Suicidal Ideation at Differing Stages Post Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Palmer Grabner, Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States Lindsey Hildebrand, Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States William Killgore, Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States Category: Concussion/Mild TBI (Adult) Keyword 1: concussion/ mild traumatic brain injury Objective: One alarming facet of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) is the increased risk of suicide following the injury. Identifying which individuals with mTBI experience this increased risk is important for intervention development. Previous case studies have documented identity issues, particularly uncertainty about oneself and their future, following mTBI, and research with non-TBI patients has shown an association between identity issues and suicidality. We hypothesized that this association would hold true for mTBI patients and that this linkage would be moderated by time since injury. Participants and Methods: Our participants included 56 males and 95 females for a total of 151 participants with mTBI (M=24.52 yrs, SD=7.075). We used the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) as well as the documented reported date of their most recent mTBI. The PAI contains 344 items that assesses different dimensions of psychopathology. We focused on the measures of identity problems (from the Borderline scale of the PAI) and suicidal ideation scale from this assessment. We used the date of their injury to determine stage of mTBI: acute (up until 1 month post-injury) post-acute (1-3 months post-injury) and chronic (3 months and longer post-injury). A bivariate correlational method was used to initially explore the relationships between these measures followed by a bootstrapping method to test for the moderation of the TBI stage on identity issues and suicidal ideation. The moderation model was formally tested using Hayes’ PROCESS method in SPSS. Results: The relationship between identity problems and suicidality is moderated by stage of mTBI (F(1,140)=10.5991, p=.0014). The general trend of our moderation showed that the relationship between identity issues and suicidal ideation was stronger in the chronic stages of mTBI whereas the relationship was weaker in the acute stage. The relationships in the subacute stage fell in between the acute and chronic stages relationship strength. Identity problems (b=.6694, p<.0001), and the interaction between mTBI phase and identity issues (b=.3468, p<.0001) significantly predicted the suicidal ideation in participants with mTBI. Our model explained 36.35% of the variance within suicidal ideation in our sample (=.3635, F(3, 140)=26.6483, p<.0001). Moreover, the model predicts that those with higher levels of identity problems tend to score higher on suicidal ideation for those at later stages of post-injury. Conclusions: While there is an association between higher identity disturbance issues and higher levels of suicidal ideation, the time post injury appears to also play a role in the strength of this relationship. Essentially, stage of mTBI is an important factor in identifying those that might be at increased risk of suicidal ideation and our findings suggest that this association is stronger with longer time since injury during the first post-concussion year. Understanding this relationship can provide targeted and meaningful interventions for those that experience mTBI. The prominence of identity issues in this model also suggests that targeted therapies such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) could be a useful therapeutic option due to its usefulness in targeting issues of the self. This could ultimately reduce suicidal ideation in mTBI patients if strategies are implemented early.

Poster

02/15/2024
09:30 am - 10:40 am
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 03: Neurotrauma | Neurovascular

Final Abstract #27

The Differing Relationship Between Identity Issues and Suicidal Ideation at Differing Stages Post Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Palmer Grabner, Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
Lindsey Hildebrand, Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
William Killgore, Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States

Category: Concussion/Mild TBI (Adult)

Keyword 1: concussion/ mild traumatic brain injury

Objective:

One alarming facet of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) is the increased risk of suicide following the injury. Identifying which individuals with mTBI experience this increased risk is important for intervention development. Previous case studies have documented identity issues, particularly uncertainty about oneself and their future, following mTBI, and research with non-TBI patients has shown an association between identity issues and suicidality. We hypothesized that this association would hold true for mTBI patients and that this linkage would be moderated by time since injury.

Participants and Methods:

Our participants included 56 males and 95 females for a total of 151 participants with mTBI (M=24.52 yrs, SD=7.075). We used the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) as well as the documented reported date of their most recent mTBI. The PAI contains 344 items that assesses different dimensions of psychopathology. We focused on the measures of identity problems (from the Borderline scale of the PAI) and suicidal ideation scale from this assessment. We used the date of their injury to determine stage of mTBI: acute (up until 1 month post-injury) post-acute (1-3 months post-injury) and chronic (3 months and longer post-injury). A bivariate correlational method was used to initially explore the relationships between these measures followed by a bootstrapping method to test for the moderation of the TBI stage on identity issues and suicidal ideation. The moderation model was formally tested using Hayes’ PROCESS method in SPSS.

Results:

The relationship between identity problems and suicidality is moderated by stage of mTBI (F(1,140)=10.5991, p=.0014). The general trend of our moderation showed that the relationship between identity issues and suicidal ideation was stronger in the chronic stages of mTBI whereas the relationship was weaker in the acute stage. The relationships in the subacute stage fell in between the acute and chronic stages relationship strength. Identity problems (b=.6694, p<.0001), and the interaction between mTBI phase and identity issues (b=.3468, p<.0001) significantly predicted the suicidal ideation in participants with mTBI. Our model explained 36.35% of the variance within suicidal ideation in our sample (=.3635, F(3, 140)=26.6483, p<.0001). Moreover, the model predicts that those with higher levels of identity problems tend to score higher on suicidal ideation for those at later stages of post-injury.

Conclusions:

While there is an association between higher identity disturbance issues and higher levels of suicidal ideation, the time post injury appears to also play a role in the strength of this relationship. Essentially, stage of mTBI is an important factor in identifying those that might be at increased risk of suicidal ideation and our findings suggest that this association is stronger with longer time since injury during the first post-concussion year. Understanding this relationship can provide targeted and meaningful interventions for those that experience mTBI. The prominence of identity issues in this model also suggests that targeted therapies such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) could be a useful therapeutic option due to its usefulness in targeting issues of the self. This could ultimately reduce suicidal ideation in mTBI patients if strategies are implemented early.