Developing a measure to assess social cognition in brain injury
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Developing a semi-structured interview to assess social cognition in brain injury
IRAS ID
349634
Contact name
Francesca Happé
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 31 days
Research summary
Research area: assessment of social cognition in brain injury
Background: Changes to social cognition are often observed in people with acquired brain injury (ABI), impacting on the quality of relationships and everyday social functioning. The most reported difficulties involve recognising the emotions of others, changes in personality and behaviour, lack of social judgement and reduced awareness into one’s social difficulties. To date, there are limited standardised measures to assess social cognition in a brain injury population.
Aims: The project will aim to use a semi-structured clinical interview created and piloted in a previous doctoral study (Crane, 2023): the Acquired Brain Injury Social Cognition Tool (ABISCoT). The tool will be administered to brain injury survivors from inpatient neurorehabilitation services at Homerton Hospital and their informants. The hypothesis is that brain injury survivors will show difficulties in one of more social cognition domains assessed by the ABISCoT.
Method: 10 brain injury participants from inpatient neurorehabilitation services at Homerton Hospital and their informants will subsequently be tested with the ABISCoT. Their performance will be compared to existing normative data using a single case series design. Individual results will be interpreted in light of any other challenges the brain injury survivor may be facing, including mood or cognitive difficulties. The study will take approximately 10 months.
Implications: findings have the potential to inform routine practice on the assessment of social cognition difficulties in individuals with brain injury.
The study is being funded by King's College London as part of a doctoral thesis in Clinical Psychology
REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0127
Date of REC Opinion
21 Mar 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion