INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 03 Program Schedule 02/15/2024 09:30 am - 10:40 am Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 03: Neurotrauma \| Neurovascular Final Abstract #86 Sex Differences in Somatization via Aggression among Individuals With mTBI Darby Wolocko, Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States 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 Alisa Huskey, 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: aggression Keyword 2: brain injury Objective: Somatization is the expression of psychological or emotional processes through physical symptoms. The manifestation of these physical symptoms is often outside of conscious awareness and is often linked to underlying causes of unhealthy emotional regulation and processing. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury caused by a physical force to the head or body that causes brain damage. Mild TBI (mTBI) often occurs without observable brain damage or loss of consciousness but can present with various physical, affective, and psychological problems. We tested the hypothesis that somatization in participants with mTBI would be associated with increased anger and aggression. Further, given the known differences in aggression between biological males and females, we also examined these associations separately by sex, hypothesizing that there would be positive associations between somatization and aggression in men, and not women. Participants and Methods: Our sample included a total of 151 participants with mTBI, 56 males and 95 females, with a mean age of 26.5 years (SD=8.0) for the male group and a mean age of 23.4 years (SD=6.2) for the female group. To measure somatization, we used the PAI, a 344 self-report psychological questionnaire that assesses 27 different facets of psychopathology, including somatization. We used the Buss Perry Aggression questionnaire (BPAQ), a well validated aggression measure that contains 29 items and measures participants' self-reported total aggression, as well as sub scores of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. We ran a bivariate correlation to explore strength of association between aggression and somatization between the sexes. Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, there were no significant correlations between somatization and aggression or any subcomponents of aggression in males with mTBI (p>.05). However, among females with mTBI, there were significant positive associations between somatization and hostility (r(74)=.452,p<.001), somatization and verbal aggression (r(89)=.246, p<.020), somatization and anger (r(89)=.328,p=.002), as well as somatization and the total aggression score (r(74)=.364,p=.001). We ran an additional stepwise regression to see how the different facets of aggression can predict somatization. Hostility (b=.452, t=4.32, p<.001) was the only significant predictor of somatization (R=.452, F(74)=18.699, p<.001) with hostility explaining 20.4% of the variance in somatization in females with mTBI. Conclusions: Higher hostility, verbal aggression, anger, as well as the total aggression scores were independently associated with higher somatization scores in females with mTBI, but when assessed together, only hostility was retained as a predictor. Interestingly, these correlations, were absent within the male mTBI group, which is contradictory to previous mTBI and aggression research, raising further questions regarding how mTBIs affect somatization post-injury between the sexes. Clarification in future work may come by examining the types of injuries sustained by males and females, comparing hormonal changes associated with injuries, or whether findings are obscured by socio-cultural expectations regarding expression of somatic and emotional symptoms.

Poster

02/15/2024
09:30 am - 10:40 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 03: Neurotrauma | Neurovascular

Final Abstract #86

Sex Differences in Somatization via Aggression among Individuals With mTBI

Darby Wolocko, Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (SCAN) Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
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
Alisa Huskey, 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: aggression
Keyword 2: brain injury

Objective:

Somatization is the expression of psychological or emotional processes through physical symptoms. The manifestation of these physical symptoms is often outside of conscious awareness and is often linked to underlying causes of unhealthy emotional regulation and processing. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an injury caused by a physical force to the head or body that causes brain damage. Mild TBI (mTBI) often occurs without observable brain damage or loss of consciousness but can present with various physical, affective, and psychological problems. We tested the hypothesis that somatization in participants with mTBI would be associated with increased anger and aggression. Further, given the known differences in aggression between biological males and females, we also examined these associations separately by sex, hypothesizing that there would be positive associations between somatization and aggression in men, and not women.

Participants and Methods:

Our sample included a total of 151 participants with mTBI, 56 males and 95 females, with a mean age of 26.5 years (SD=8.0) for the male group and a mean age of 23.4 years (SD=6.2) for the female group. To measure somatization, we used the PAI, a 344 self-report psychological questionnaire that assesses 27 different facets of psychopathology, including somatization. We used the Buss Perry Aggression questionnaire (BPAQ), a well validated aggression measure that contains 29 items and measures participants' self-reported total aggression, as well as sub scores of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility. We ran a bivariate correlation to explore strength of association between aggression and somatization between the sexes.

Results:

Contrary to our hypothesis, there were no significant correlations between somatization and aggression or any subcomponents of aggression in males with mTBI (p>.05). However, among females with mTBI, there were significant positive associations between somatization and hostility (r(74)=.452,p<.001), somatization and verbal aggression (r(89)=.246, p<.020), somatization and anger (r(89)=.328,p=.002), as well as somatization and the total aggression score (r(74)=.364,p=.001). We ran an additional stepwise regression to see how the different facets of aggression can predict somatization. Hostility (b=.452, t=4.32, p<.001) was the only significant predictor of somatization (R=.452, F(74)=18.699, p<.001) with hostility explaining 20.4% of the variance in somatization in females with mTBI.

Conclusions:

Higher hostility, verbal aggression, anger, as well as the total aggression scores were independently associated with higher somatization scores in females with mTBI, but when assessed together, only hostility was retained as a predictor. Interestingly, these correlations, were absent within the male mTBI group, which is contradictory to previous mTBI and aggression research, raising further questions regarding how mTBIs affect somatization post-injury between the sexes. Clarification in future work may come by examining the types of injuries sustained by males and females, comparing hormonal changes associated with injuries, or whether findings are obscured by socio-cultural expectations regarding expression of somatic and emotional symptoms.