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Prevalence and predictors of externalizing behavior in young adult survivors of pediatric traumatic brain injury

journal contribution
posted on 2015-03-01, 00:00 authored by Nicholas RyanNicholas Ryan, Nathan Hughes, Celia Godfrey, Stefanie Rosema, Cathy Catroppa, Vicki A Anderson
OBJECTIVES: To investigate rates of clinically significant externalizing behavior (EB) in young adult survivors of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) and evaluate the contribution of pre- and postinjury risk and resilience factors to EB outcomes 16 years after injury. SETTING: Melbourne, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-five young adults (mean age = 23.85 years; injury age: 1.0-12 years) admitted to an emergency department following TBI between 1993 and 1997. DESIGN: Longitudinal prospective study with data collected at the acute, 10-year, and 16-year postinjury time points. MAIN MEASURES: Severity of TBI, adaptive functioning, family functioning, full-scale IQ, executive functioning, social communication, and symptoms of EB. RESULTS: One of every 4 young people with a history of pediatric TBI demonstrated clinical or subthreshold levels of EB in young adulthood. More frequent EB was associated with poorer preinjury adaptive functioning, lower full-scale IQ, and more frequent pragmatic communication difficulty. CONCLUSION: Pediatric TBI is associated with an elevated risk for externalizing disorders in the transition to adulthood. Results underscore the need for screening and assessment of TBI among young offenders and suggest that early and long-term targeted interventions may be required to address risk factors for EB in children and young people with TBI.

History

Journal

Journal of head trauma rehabilitation

Volume

30

Pagination

75-85

Location

Philadelphia, Pa.

ISSN

0885-9701

eISSN

1550-509X

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2015, Wolters Kluwer Health

Issue

2

Publisher

Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins