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Linguistic Interpretation of Acute Injury Characteristics That Define Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: an Exploratory Study of Native and Non-native English Speakers

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Abstract

In this study, we sought to explore if linguistic factors impact the diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). More specifically, we examined if the meaning of acute injury characteristics that determine whether an mTBI was sustained systematically differed across linguistically diverse populations. A total of 296 participants (68% female; 33% of South Asian descent; 42% second generation Canadian) were administered an mTBI Criterion Questionnaire where they were asked to define the diagnostic terms “dazed,” “disoriented,” and “confused.” These words were analyzed and placed into an appropriate validated word category scale (i.e., self-reference, social, positive emotion, negative emotion, and cognitive) using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software program. There were no significant differences between native-English and limited English proficiency (i.e., non-native-English) speaker groups for the diagnostic terms “dazed” and “confused.” However, there were significant differences between these language groups for the diagnostic term “disoriented.” Our findings suggest that individuals that have limited English proficiency may be subject to additional distortions in symptom reporting. Clinicians should be particularly mindful of linguistic differences in patient interpretation of acute injury characteristics in the context of establishing a diagnosis of mTBI.

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Author notes

  1. Sonya Dhillon and Angela Sekely are co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Sonya Dhillon, Angela Sekely & Konstantine K. Zakzanis

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Preet Gujral, Shaylyn Joseph & Konstantine K. Zakzanis

Authors
  1. Sonya Dhillon
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  2. Angela Sekely
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  3. Preet Gujral
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  4. Shaylyn Joseph
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  5. Konstantine K. Zakzanis
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Correspondence to Sonya Dhillon.

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Dhillon, S., Sekely, A., Gujral, P. et al. Linguistic Interpretation of Acute Injury Characteristics That Define Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: an Exploratory Study of Native and Non-native English Speakers. Psychol. Inj. and Law 14, 153–160 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12207-021-09416-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12207-021-09416-y

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