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An Investigation of the Validity of the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2021

Blanca Poveda Open the ORCID record for Blanca Poveda [Opens in a new window] ,
Sharon Abrahams ,
R. Asaad Baksh ,
Sarah E. MacPherson Open the ORCID record for Sarah E. MacPherson [Opens in a new window]  and
Jonathan J. Evans
Blanca Poveda*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh, UK
Sharon Abrahams
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
R. Asaad Baksh
Affiliation:
Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK The London Down Syndrome (LonDownS) Consortium, London, United Kingdom
Sarah E. MacPherson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Jonathan J. Evans
Affiliation:
Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Blanca Poveda, Department of Clinical Neurosciences (DCN), NHS Lothian, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4TJ, UK. E-mail [email protected]
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Abstract

Objectives:

Social cognition is frequently impaired following an acquired brain injury (ABI) but often overlooked in clinical assessments. There are few validated and appropriate measures of social cognitive abilities for ABI patients. The current study examined the validity of the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT, Baksh et al., 2018) in measuring social cognition following an ABI.

Methods:

Forty-one patients with ABI were recruited from a rehabilitation service and completed measures of general ability, executive functions and social cognition (Faux Pas; FP, Reading the Mind in the Eyes; RME, Social Norms Questionnaire; SNQ and the ESCoT). Forty-one controls matched on age, sex and years of education also performed the RME, SNQ and ESCoT.

Results:

A diagnosis of ABI was significantly associated with poorer performance on all ESCoT measures and RME while adjusting for age, sex and years of education. In ABI patients, the ESCoT showed good internal consistency with its subcomponents and performance correlated with the other measures of social cognition demonstrating convergent validity. Better Trail Making Test performance predicted better ESCoT total, RME and SNQ scores. Higher TOPF IQ was associated with higher RME scores, while higher WAIS-IV working memory predicted better FP performance.

Conclusions:

The ESCoT is a brief, valid and internally consistent assessment tool able to detect social cognition deficits in neurological patients. Given the prevalence of social cognition deficits in ABI and the marked impact these can have on an individual’s recovery, this assessment can be a helpful addition to a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment.

Keywords

Acquired brain injurySocial cognitionTheory of mindSocial norm understandingExecutive functionAssessment
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 28 , Issue 10 , November 2022 , pp. 1016 - 1028
Copyright
Copyright © INS. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2021

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