Screening for traumatic brain injury in an offender sample: A first look at the reliability and validity of the Traumatic Brain Injury Questionnaire

Objective: To assess the reliability and validity of the Traumatic Brain Injury Questionnaire (TBIQ) for assessing history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in an offender population. Setting/Participants: Offenders (118 women and 107 men) from 6 federal prison facilities in 3 geographic regions. Measures: TBIQ and multiple measures of cognitive and behavioral functioning. Results: Preliminary results indicated good test-retest reliability for lifetime history of head injury, good internal consistency for symptom severity and frequency scales, and good criterion validity for frequency of head injury and frequency and severity of symptoms. Conclusion: The TBIQ holds promise as an instrument for the assessment of TBI history in offender populations.