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Clare M. Couch, Janet M. Leathem, An Initial Study to Establish Symptom Base Rates of Traumatic Brain Injury in Children, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Volume 26, Issue 4, June 2011, Pages 349–355, https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acr028
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Abstract
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.
