Social cognition in acquired brain injury: adaptation and validation of the Brief Assessment of Social Skills (BASS)

Background: Acquired brain injury (ABI) is associated with social cognitive impairments, yet these impairments are often overlooked during clinical assessments. There are few validated and clinically appropriate measures of social cognition in ABI. The current study examined the validity of the Brief Assessment of Social Skills (BASS) in measuring social cognition following ABI.

Method: Twenty-eight people with ABI were recruited from local brain injury rehabilitation and support services and completed measures of social cognition, general intellectual ability, and social functioning. Twenty-eight controls demographically matched for age, gender, and years of education also performed these measures.

Results: A diagnosis of ABI was significantly associated with poorer performance on five subtests of the BASS. The BASS had moderate correlations with established measures of social cognition and measures characteristics that are distinguishable from general cognition. There was minimal evidence of a relationship between performance on the BASS and social functioning, with a significant relationship between a BASS subscale and informant-reported living skills and total social functioning. Using a series of case studies, the clinical utility of the BASS was emphasized by the development of unique social cognitive profiles across ABI individuals, including impairments in areas not significant at a group level.

Discussion: The BASS is a brief and comprehensive measure that is able to detect social cognition impairments in ABI patients. Given the prevalence of impairment in social cognition following ABI and the implications of these abilities on social functioning, this measure can be used in comprehensive neuropsychological assessment to guide and monitor progress toward rehabilitation goals.