Relationship between illness perceptions, coping style and post-concussion symptoms after systemic traumatic injury: A comparison of those with and without mild traumatic brain injury

Research has reported variable findings when investigating the relationship between outcome and coping style and illness perceptions after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The present study investigated 138 individuals who had been admitted to hospital after suffering a traumatic systemic injury, with 91 of these individuals also fulfilling criteria for mTBI and 47 comprising a trauma control (TC) comparison group. Participants were assessed 8 weeks after injury with measures of coping style, illness perception, post-concussion symptoms (PCS) and psychological symptomatology. After controlling for psychological distress and sex, no linear or predictive association was found between any coping style and PCS endorsement for either group. Despite equivalent levels of PCS and general injury-related symptom endorsement (Identity beliefs) between the groups, regression analyses revealed that Identity beliefs significantly improved the prediction of PCS endorsement in the mTBI group, but not in the TC group. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.