Determining the SPSQ as a symptom validity test.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Validation of the Symptoms of Post-Concussion Syndrome Questionnaire (SPSQ) as a self-report symptom validity test for individuals with an acquired head injury.
IRAS ID
200642
Contact name
Victoria Reece
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Staffordshire University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 3 months, 30 days
Research summary
This study aims to validate a new symptom validity test, the Symptoms of Post-concussion Syndrome Questionnaire (SPSQ), for use in clinical services with individuals with traumatic brain injury. A between subjects and cross-sectional design will be employed. Participants recruited from a student population will be randomly allocated into either a neurologically intact control group or a malingering group who will be instructed to perform on the tests as though they had a brain injury in order to gain compensation. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) participants will be recruited from clinical populations. TBI participants have been included in the study as ultimately the SPSQ is aimed at this population. Any TBI participants that fail any of the established effort tests will be excluded from the analysis as they may be sub-optimal performers and threaten the internal validity of the sample.
Participants will be informed that the study is investigating methods of assessment in post-concussion syndrome. All participants will complete a test battery including the SPSQ, and the Word Memory Test (established effort test) and LIPP (symptom validity measure) to ensure a bonafide sample of participants. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale is also included to rule out any effects of depression or anxiety. The Test of Pre-morbid Functioning (TOPF-UK) is selected to establish pre-morbid functioning and ensure a representative sample is included in the study. Tests of sensitivity and specificity will be performed to assess the SPSQ’s ability to correctly identify those individuals who are feigning effort whilst not giving a false positive result for individuals who are applying full effort. The psychometric properties of the SPSQ will be established by running a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis which is a common evaluative method used to assess the new application of a clinical test.REC name
West Midlands - Edgbaston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0300
Date of REC Opinion
8 Sep 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion