Misconceptions about Stroke: Causal Attributions for Stroke-Related Symptoms Reflect the Age of the Survivor. Issue 3 (12th July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wainwright, Charlotte; McClure, John; McDowall, John
• Is Part Of: Brain impairment. Volume 18:Issue 3(2017)
• Page Start: 299
• Page End: 309
• Publication Date: 2017-07-12
• Subjects: stroke, -- age, -- young stroke survivors, -- invisible disorders, -- attributions, -- rehabilitation, -- stigma, -- misconceptions; Brain Diseases -- Congresses; Brain Diseases -- Periodicals; Brain -- Diseases -- Periodicals; 616.805
• DOI: 10.1017/BrImp.2017.13
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1443-9646

Abstract

Abstract : With visible disabilities, observers tend to overgeneralise from the disability. In contrast, with invisible disabilities such as traumatic brain injury and stroke, observers often fail to allow for challenges resulting from the disability. Persons who have suffered a stroke claim that people misunderstand their symptoms and stigmatise them as a result of these symptoms. This misunderstanding, which happens particularly with young survivors of stroke, may reflect people's causal attributions for symptoms that follow a stroke. Using a scenario design, this cross-sectional study examined whether people attribute ambiguous symptoms that may result from stroke to other causes (the stroke survivor's personality and age) and whether these attributions reflect the age of the stroke survivor. Participants ( N = 120) read scenarios describing a male who was aged either 22, 72, or whose age was unstated and who showed four symptom changes: fatigue, depression, irritability and reduced friendships. For each symptom change, participants rated three causal attributions: the person's age, his personality and stroke. The age of the person in the scenario affected attributions; when the person in the scenario was 22, participants attributed his symptoms significantly more to his personality than to his age or stroke, whereas when he was 72, participants attributed his symptoms more to his age than to his personality or stroke and when his age was unstated, they attributed his symptoms equally to age, stroke and personality. Because misattributions for stroke symptoms hinder rehabilitation, therapy can target people's misattributions to enhance rehabilitation for survivors of stroke.