An Initial Study to Establish Symptom Base Rates of Traumatic Brain Injury in Children

• Published in: Archives of clinical neuropsychology Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 349 - 355
• Main Authors: COUCH, Clare M, LEATHEM, Janet M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01-06-2011
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Injuries - complications; Brain Injuries - epidemiology; Brain Injuries - psychology; Child; Child Behavior Disorders - epidemiology; Child Behavior Disorders - etiology; Child Behavior Disorders - psychology; Child clinical studies; Female; Humans; Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Fatigue - epidemiology; Mental Fatigue - etiology; Mood Disorders - epidemiology; Mood Disorders - etiology; Neuropsychological Tests; Organic mental disorders. Neuropsychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reference Values; Sex Characteristics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents; Human; symptoms; Symptomatology; Nervous system diseases; base rates; traumatic brain injury; Head trauma; Child
• ISSN: 0887-6177; 1873-5843
• DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acr028

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with complaints including headaches, restlessness, memory problems, or irritability, which are assumed to be a consequence of the TBI. The current study is a first attempt to establish the prevalence of common TBI complaints reported by non-brain-injured children aged 11-13. In a 38-item self-report questionnaire, 124 children reported high base rates for symptoms over the past year, especially "grumpy/cross" (79.4%), "frustration" (74.0%), and "fatigue (mental or physical)" (72.2%). This was comparable with base rate information reported by Lees-Haley and Brown (1993) for non-brain-injured adults for a longer period (24-month period). Approximately 20% of children reported five or more symptoms on a daily or weekly basis. They were most likely to be in behavioral and emotional rather than somatic or cognitive domains. Therefore, further research is needed to establish base rate information in order to clarify the true significance of symptom reporting and caution is recommended in interpretation of these symptoms in neuropsychological assessment of TBI in children.