SOCIALABI, a Rasch-built questionnaire for anger, hostility and aggression assessment after an acquired brain injury

To develop a questionnaire (SOCIALABI) that assesses anger, hostility and aggression after a brain injury in French-speaking individuals.

77 individuals who sustained a stroke (64.4%) or a traumatic brain injury (35.6%); 64.9% males; mean age 54.8 +/- 14.0 (min 20-max 80); time since injury: 1 to 370 months (mean: 38.04).

A 43-item questionnaire (N1) was first developed with items regarding anger, hostility and aggression; items were rated using a 4-point Likert scale (never, sometimes, often, always). The questionnaire was evaluated by 19 brain injury experts according to 3 criteria: usable in practice, appropriate formulation, and relevance to the issue assessed. Twenty-two of the items with the highest scores were retained (N2) because they were considered the most usable and appropriate. The N2 questionnaire was administered to 77 individuals with brain injury, and their responses were analysed using the Rasch Model with Winstep Version 5.1.0.0. software to select the 15 best items of the questionnaire.

The final SOCIALABI questionnaire (N3) included 15 items. No participants reported any difficulty distinguishing between never, sometimes, often and always. The 4-level Likert rating was therefore retained. SOCIALABI includes items that assess different aspects of social skills after a brain injury.

The SOCIALABI questionnaire assesses the level of aggression following an acquired brain injury in French-speaking individuals. It is an easy screening tool to use in the clinical setting and takes just a few minutes to complete.