A case study investigation of the neuropsychological profile of a rugby player with a history of multiple concussions
- Authors: Case, Stephanie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Rugby football injuries , Brain -- Concussion -- Complications , Neuropsychological tests , Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3165 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007727 , Rugby football injuries , Brain -- Concussion -- Complications , Neuropsychological tests , Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects
- Description: sustained multiple concussions may be at risk of cumulative impairment. The role of neuropsychological testing in the management of sports-related concussion is a contentious and challenging issue which has gained credibility given the lack of clear and well-established guidelines pertaining to the diagnosis, assessment and return-to-play decisions following concussion. Despite various traditional paper and pencil tests being shown to be effective indicators of postconcussive neuropsychological dysfunction, testing has not been widely implemented, due to time- and labour-demands. ImPACT, a computer-based neuropsychological assessment instrument, has been recognised as a valid and reliable tool in the monitoring of athletes' symptoms and neurocognitive functioning preseason and postconcussion. As a part of larger-scale concussion research conducted on top-team university rugby players, this is an in-depth case study conducted on a 20-year old participant with a history of multiple concussions, who was referred following a concussion sustained during the season. The objectives of the study were: (i) to determine the sensitivity of ImPACT versus WAIS-III Digit Span and Trail Making Test during the acute postconcussive phase; and (ii) to examine the sensitivity of ImPACT versus a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests to possible residual deficits as a result of the multiple concussions. ImPACT was determined to be more sensitive to acute postconcussive impairment following concussion than Digit Span and Trail Making Test. Furthermore, the ImPACT preseason baseline scores appear to be sensitive to neurocognitive dysfunction, possibly due to cumulative concussive injuries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Case, Stephanie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Rugby football injuries , Brain -- Concussion -- Complications , Neuropsychological tests , Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3165 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007727 , Rugby football injuries , Brain -- Concussion -- Complications , Neuropsychological tests , Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects
- Description: sustained multiple concussions may be at risk of cumulative impairment. The role of neuropsychological testing in the management of sports-related concussion is a contentious and challenging issue which has gained credibility given the lack of clear and well-established guidelines pertaining to the diagnosis, assessment and return-to-play decisions following concussion. Despite various traditional paper and pencil tests being shown to be effective indicators of postconcussive neuropsychological dysfunction, testing has not been widely implemented, due to time- and labour-demands. ImPACT, a computer-based neuropsychological assessment instrument, has been recognised as a valid and reliable tool in the monitoring of athletes' symptoms and neurocognitive functioning preseason and postconcussion. As a part of larger-scale concussion research conducted on top-team university rugby players, this is an in-depth case study conducted on a 20-year old participant with a history of multiple concussions, who was referred following a concussion sustained during the season. The objectives of the study were: (i) to determine the sensitivity of ImPACT versus WAIS-III Digit Span and Trail Making Test during the acute postconcussive phase; and (ii) to examine the sensitivity of ImPACT versus a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests to possible residual deficits as a result of the multiple concussions. ImPACT was determined to be more sensitive to acute postconcussive impairment following concussion than Digit Span and Trail Making Test. Furthermore, the ImPACT preseason baseline scores appear to be sensitive to neurocognitive dysfunction, possibly due to cumulative concussive injuries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Cross-cultural differences in IQ test performance: extension of an existing normative database on WAIS-III test performance
- Authors: Gaylard, Emma K
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale -- South Africa , Black people -- Education , Black people -- Social conditions , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2979 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002488 , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale -- South Africa , Black people -- Education , Black people -- Social conditions , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Description: Prior research (Shuttleworth-Edwards et al., 2004) presented preliminary normative data for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – III (WAIS-III) for Southern Africa, stratified according to gender (female vs. male), language (black African vs. white English), level of education (matric/12+ years of education vs. Graduate/15+ years of education) and quality of education (disadvantaged – Department of Education and Training vs. advantaged - Private/Model C). IQ scores for black African language and white English Southern Africans were comparable with the United States of America (USA) standardization when level and quality of education were equitable. (‘White English’ is the term used to denote those of European descent whose first language is English). A limitation of the research was the lack of control for language for most of the black groups and particularly in the Private/Model C Graduate group, where sixty percent of the participants originated from Zimbabwe. These represented a particularly elite group whose education was equitable to that of the white participants throughout their education (i.e. at primary, secondary and tertiary level). In order to rectify the lack of homogeneity of language, all non- Xhosa first language participants were excluded from the black sample and sixteen additional Xhosa first language participants were tested on the WAIS-III. Data analyses found no significant differences between the original and new groups, except in the comparison between Mixed African language Private/Model C Graduates and the Xhosa first language Private/Model C Graduate/15+ years of education, where there was a lowering of WAIS-III subtest, index and IQ scores in the newly constituted group. This lowering in test performance is explained in that the new Xhosa first language 15+ years of education group was a less advantaged group than the original Mixed African Language Private/Model C Graduate group, as the new group generally had less advantaged primary school education and had generally studied less at a tertiary level. Overall, these results demonstrate an incremental increase in WAIS-III test performance for sample groups on a continuum of quality of education from least to most advantaged education. This was true for both verbal and non-verbal subtests.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Gaylard, Emma K
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale -- South Africa , Black people -- Education , Black people -- Social conditions , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2979 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002488 , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale -- South Africa , Black people -- Education , Black people -- Social conditions , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Description: Prior research (Shuttleworth-Edwards et al., 2004) presented preliminary normative data for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – III (WAIS-III) for Southern Africa, stratified according to gender (female vs. male), language (black African vs. white English), level of education (matric/12+ years of education vs. Graduate/15+ years of education) and quality of education (disadvantaged – Department of Education and Training vs. advantaged - Private/Model C). IQ scores for black African language and white English Southern Africans were comparable with the United States of America (USA) standardization when level and quality of education were equitable. (‘White English’ is the term used to denote those of European descent whose first language is English). A limitation of the research was the lack of control for language for most of the black groups and particularly in the Private/Model C Graduate group, where sixty percent of the participants originated from Zimbabwe. These represented a particularly elite group whose education was equitable to that of the white participants throughout their education (i.e. at primary, secondary and tertiary level). In order to rectify the lack of homogeneity of language, all non- Xhosa first language participants were excluded from the black sample and sixteen additional Xhosa first language participants were tested on the WAIS-III. Data analyses found no significant differences between the original and new groups, except in the comparison between Mixed African language Private/Model C Graduates and the Xhosa first language Private/Model C Graduate/15+ years of education, where there was a lowering of WAIS-III subtest, index and IQ scores in the newly constituted group. This lowering in test performance is explained in that the new Xhosa first language 15+ years of education group was a less advantaged group than the original Mixed African Language Private/Model C Graduate group, as the new group generally had less advantaged primary school education and had generally studied less at a tertiary level. Overall, these results demonstrate an incremental increase in WAIS-III test performance for sample groups on a continuum of quality of education from least to most advantaged education. This was true for both verbal and non-verbal subtests.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
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