@article{ref1,
title="Cognition and functional capacity following traumatic brain injury in veterans",
journal="Rehabilitation psychology",
year="2019",
author="Clark, Jillian M. R. and Jak, Amy J. and Twamley, Elizabeth W.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Performance-based tests of functional capacity are rarely used in research on mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI), but they may function as a link between cognitive impairment and real-world functioning. We sought to examine the relationship between cognitive functioning and performance-based functional capacity, as measured by the University of California San Diego Performance-Based Skills Assessment-Brief (UPSA-B), in Veterans with TBI histories. RESEARCH METHOD: A total of 50 unemployed Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans with mild to moderate TBI histories completed assessments of neuropsychological performance and functional capacity (UPSA-B total, financial subscale, and communication subscale scores). All participants were impaired in at least 1 neuropsychological domain on a prior clinical neuropsychological evaluation. A global deficit score was calculated based on neuropsychological performance on assessments of attention/working memory, processing speed, learning, delayed recall, prospective memory, and executive functioning. Deficit scores were also calculated for the executive-functioning domain and the processing-speed domain. Neuropsychological deficit scores were then correlated with UPSA-B performances. <br><br>RESULTS: Correlation coefficients indicated that worse global neuropsychological performance was related to worse overall functional capacity (<i>rs</i> = -.28, <i>p</i> =.046) and communication capacity (<i>r<sub>s</sub></i> = -.34, <i>p</i> =.016). Worse executive functioning was related to worse functional capacity, <i>r</i> = -.37, <i>p</i> =.008, particularly in the domain of communication, <i>r</i> = -.44, <i>p</i> ≤.001. Processing-speed performance was not related to functional capacity. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Executive functioning was moderately associated with both communication and overall everyday functioning capacity. Improvement in executive-functioning deficits may improve functional capacity, specifically in communication tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0090-5550",
doi="10.1037/rep0000294",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/rep0000294"
}