Review of the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory.

Abstract

Purpose/Objective: To describe the psychometrics and utility of the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) and provide suggestions for clinical usage and future research. Research Method/Design: Thirty studies examining aspects of the NSI, published between 1995 and 2020, were reviewed. Results: The NSI is a 22-item self-report questionnaire of neurobehavioral symptoms. The NSI was first published in 1995 and has since been adopted by the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans affairs for traumatic brain injury (TBI) research and clinical evaluation. Most research on the NSI has been conducted in veteran and military samples with predominantly mild TBI. Cronbach's alpha ranged from .81 to .96 for the total score and exceeded .80 for most scales. Test-retest values ranged from .78 to .94 for the total score and ranged from .52 to .91 for subscales. Item content overlaps with psychiatric disorders and is expectedly correlated with psychiatric measures and emotional distress. Although consensus about its factor structure is lacking, the 3- and 4-factor solutions have been replicated and have the strongest support. Subsequent researchers have published reliable change indices, embedded validity indices, and normative data using civilian and military samples. Conclusions/Implications: The NSI has acceptable reliability and some evidence supporting its validity in measuring neurobehavioral symptoms. Although not intended to diagnose TBI, the NSI has value for clinicians and researchers in characterizing the presence and severity of symptom complaints and tracking symptomatic change in persons with TBI. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).