The Use of Traumatic Brain Injuries in News Media
Loading...
Date
2024-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are an often-studied phenomenon within the medical and physical science disciplines. This paper shed light on TBIs from a social science perspective. Specifically, the paper addresses how TBIs are viewed, referred to, and used within news media. This examination additionally highlights how, when discussing criminality, TBIs are often inadequately discussed/explained which can perpetuate stereotypes and biases within society. To examine this, I conducted a content analysis of 167 articles from six different newspapers; all examined articles were published between February 2019 and February 2024, with three papers originating from the United States and three from England. I placed each article in one of three categories (substantive, somewhat substantive, or not substantive) to show how, and how often, TBIs are used in various manners and contexts. Results suggest that, predominantly, TBIs are referenced in news media at a surface level. This most often occurred when articles would describe an individual’s injuries and mention “TBI” in name alone offering no discussion of how it impacts the individual or their lived experience. Although the minority, in some articles from all six sources, TBIs do serve as the prominent focus and are discussed in detail. This typically occurred in articles which focused on TBIs and discussed some treatment or finding. Broadly, this research showcases the diffusion of misunderstanding and misuse of TBIs throughout various news media outlets.
Description
Keywords
Newspaper, TBI, Criminality, Framing, Misunderstandings