Nature and correlates of self-esteem in young adult survivors of childhood traumatic brain injury.

Despite growing research linking childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) with reduced wellbeing, self-esteem, and psycho-social health, very few studies have examined self-esteem and its correlates in young adult survivors of childhood TBI. This very-long-term follow-up study evaluated self-esteem in 29 young adults with a history of childhood TBI (M time since injury = 13.84 years; SD = 0.74), and 10 typically developing controls (TDCs). All participants were originally recruited into a larger, longitudinal case-control study between 2007 and 2010. In the current follow-up study, both groups completed well-validated measures of self-esteem and mental health in young adulthood. Although group means for self-esteem did not significantly differ between TBI and TDC groups, a higher proportion of TBI participants rated their self-esteem in the clinical range (TBI group = 17%; TDC group = 0%). While self-esteem was not significantly associated with injury or pre-injury child or family characteristics, lower self-esteem was significantly correlated with greater concurrent feelings of loneliness (p = 0.007) and higher concurrent mood symptoms (p < 0.001).Our results suggest that social isolation and low mood may represent meaningful targets for psycho-social interventions to address poor self-worth in young adults with a history of childhood TBI.

Delineating the impact of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) on long-term depressive symptom severity: Does sub-acute brain morphometry prospectively predict 2-year outcome?

Despite evidence of a link between childhood TBI and heightened risk for depressive symptoms, very few studies have examined early risk factors that predict the presence and severity of post-injury depression beyond 1-year post injury. This longitudinal prospective study examined the effect of mild-severe childhood TBI on depressive symptom severity at 2-years post-injury. It also evaluated the potential role of sub-acute brain morphometry and executive function (EF) in prospectively predicting these long-term outcomes. The study involved 81 children and adolescents with TBI, and 40 age-and-sex matched typically developing (TD) controls. Participants underwent high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sub-acutely at five weeks post-injury (M = 5.55; SD = 3.05 weeks) and EF assessments were completed at 6-months post-injury. Compared to TD controls, the TBI group had significantly higher overall internalizing symptoms and were significantly more likely to exhibit clinically significant depressive symptoms at 2-year follow-up. The TBI group also displayed significantly lower EF and altered sub-acute brain morphometry in EF-related brain networks, including the default-mode network (DMN), salience network (SN) and central executive network (CEN). Mediation analyses revealed significant indirect effects of CEN morphometry on depression symptom severity, such that lower EF mediated the prospective association between altered CEN morphometry and higher depression symptoms in the TBI group. Parallel mediation analyses including grey matter morphometry of a non-EF brain network (i.e., the mentalising network) were not statistically significant, suggesting some model specificity. The findings indicate that screening for early neurostructural and neurocognitive risk factors may help identify children at elevated risk of depressive symptoms following TBI. For instance, children at greatest risk of post-injury depression symptoms could be identified based in part on neuroimaging of networks implicated in EF and post-acute assessments of executive function, which could support more effective allocation of limited intervention resources.

Deep phenotyping of socio-emotional skills in children with typical development, neurodevelopmental disorders, and mental health conditions: Evidence from the PEERS.

OBJECTIVE: Socio-emotional skills, including social competence and social cognition, form the basis for robust relationships and wellbeing. Despite their importance, these skills are poorly defined and measured, particularly in children with developmental vulnerabilities. As a consequence, targets for effective management and treatment remain unclear. We aimed to i) phenotype social competence and social cognition in typically developing children (TDC) and in children with neurodevelopmental or mental health disorders (clinical groups) and ii) establish the relationships between these child-direct measures and parent ratings of social competence and behavior. METHOD: Using a multi-site, cross-sectional study design, we recruited 513 TDC and 136 children with neurodevelopmental (autism spectrum disorder [ASD], attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]) or mental health (Anxiety Disorder [ANX]) diagnoses (age range 5-15 years). We administered the Paediatric Evaluation of Emotions, Relationships and Socialisation (PEERS) to children, and parents completed standardised questionnaires rating children's socio-emotional function. RESULTS: Standardised parent questionnaires revealed a global pattern of everyday socio-emotional impairment that was common to all clinical groups, while PEERS identified disorder-specific socio-cognitive profiles for children with ASD, ADHD and ANX. Compared to TDCs, children with ASD demonstrated global socio-cognitive impairment. Children with ADHD were impulsive, demonstrating difficulties managing speed accuracy trade-offs. Children with ANX exhibited slowed social decision-making, but otherwise intact skills. CONCLUSIONS: Standardized parent questionnaires of child socio-emotional function reveal differences between children with typical and atypical development, but do not yield disorder-specific, socio-emotional profiles. In contrast, findings from the PEERS objective assessment suggest that that ASD, ADHD and ANX are associated with distinct socio-cognitive phenotypes, to more accurately guide and target management and treatment of impaired social competence.

Longitudinal cohort study investigating neurodevelopmental and socioemotional outcomes in school-entry aged children after open heart surgery in Australia and New Zealand: the NITRIC follow-up study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Despite growing awareness of neurodevelopmental impairments in children with congenital heart disease (CHD), there is a lack of large, longitudinal, population-based cohorts. Little is known about the contemporary neurodevelopmental profile and the emergence of specific impairments in children with CHD entering school. The performance of standardised screening tools to predict neurodevelopmental outcomes at school age in this high-risk population remains poorly understood. The NITric oxide during cardiopulmonary bypass to improve Recovery in Infants with Congenital heart defects (NITRIC) trial randomised 1371 children <2 years of age, investigating the effect of gaseous nitric oxide applied into the cardiopulmonary bypass oxygenator during heart surgery. The NITRIC follow-up study will follow this cohort annually until 5 years of age to assess outcomes related to cognition and socioemotional behaviour at school entry, identify risk factors for adverse outcomes and evaluate the performance of screening tools. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Approximately 1150 children from the NITRIC trial across five sites in Australia and New Zealand will be eligible. Follow-up assessments will occur in two stages: (1) annual online screening of global neurodevelopment, socioemotional and executive functioning, health-related quality of life and parenting stress at ages 2-5 years; and (2) face-to-face assessment at age 5 years assessing intellectual ability, attention, memory and processing speed; fine motor skills; language and communication; and socioemotional outcomes. Cognitive and socioemotional outcomes and trajectories of neurodevelopment will be described and demographic, clinical, genetic and environmental predictors of these outcomes will be explored. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been obtained from the Children's Health Queensland (HREC/20/QCHQ/70626) and New Zealand Health and Disability (21/NTA/83) Research Ethics Committees. The findings will inform the development of clinical decision tools and improve preventative and intervention strategies in children with CHD. Dissemination of the outcomes of the study is expected via publications in peer-reviewed journals, presentation at conferences, via social media, podcast presentations and medical education resources, and through CHD family partners. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: The trial was prospectively registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry as 'Gene Expression to Predict Long-Term Neurodevelopmental Outcome in Infants from the NITric oxide during cardiopulmonary bypass to improve Recovery in Infants with Congenital heart defects (NITRIC) Study - A Multicentre Prospective Trial'. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12621000904875.

Associations Between Peer Relationships and Self-Esteem After Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: Exploring the Mediating Role of Loneliness.

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) can impact psycho-social functioning, including friendships and experiences of loneliness; however, few studies have explored associations between these factors and self-esteem. To address this gap, the objective of this study was to document inter-relationships between friendship quality, peer-related loneliness, and self-esteem 12 months post-injury. The sample in this prospective, longitudinal observational study consisted of 135 children, including 92 children with TBI (57 mild, 35 moderate-severe TBI) and 43 typically developing control (TDC) children. Children rated their friendship quality, loneliness, and self-esteem. Parents completed questionnaires measuring socioeconomic status and children's pre-injury functioning. At 12-month follow-up, ratings of friendship quality (perceived support and satisfaction with friendships), peer-related loneliness, and self-esteem were comparable between TBI and TDC participants. In mediation models, poorer quality friendships were associated with greater peer-related loneliness, and greater peer-related loneliness was related to reduced athletic and social self-esteem, at 12 months post-TBI. Loneliness with peers mediated the effects of both friendship support and friendship satisfaction on children's social self-esteem. Our preliminary findings suggest that regular monitoring of social interactions post-TBI might facilitate early identification of children who are likely to benefit from interventions targeting peer-related loneliness, which in turn may lower risk for poorer self-esteem.

Association of neurostructural biomarkers with secondary attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom severity in children with traumatic brain injury: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Despite a well-established link between childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) and elevated secondary attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (s-ADHD) symptomology, the neurostructural correlates of these symptoms are largely unknown. Based on the influential 'triple-network model' of ADHD, this prospective longitudinal investigation aimed to (i) assess the effect of childhood TBI on brain morphometry of higher-order cognitive networks proposed to play a key role in ADHD pathophysiology, including the default-mode network (DMN), salience network (SN) and central executive network (CEN); and (ii) assess the independent prognostic value of DMN, SN and CEN morphometry in predicting s-ADHD symptom severity after childhood TBI. METHODS: The study sample comprised 155 participants, including 112 children with medically confirmed mild-severe TBI ascertained from consecutive hospital admissions, and 43 typically developing (TD) children matched for age, sex and socio-economic status. High-resolution structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences were acquired sub-acutely in a subset of 103 children with TBI and 34 TD children. Parents completed well-validated measures of ADHD symptom severity at 12-months post injury. RESULTS: Relative to TD children and those with milder levels of TBI severity (mild, complicated mild, moderate), children with severe TBI showed altered brain morphometry within large-scale, higher-order cognitive networks, including significantly diminished grey matter volumes within the DMN, SN and CEN. When compared with the TD group, the TBI group showed significantly higher ADHD symptomatology and higher rates of clinically elevated symptoms. In multivariable models adjusted for other well-established risk factors, altered DMN morphometry independently predicted higher s-ADHD symptomatology at 12-months post-injury, whilst SN and CEN morphometry were not significant independent predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Our prospective study findings suggest that neurostructural alterations within higher-order cognitive circuitry may represent a prospective risk factor for s-ADHD symptomatology at 12-months post-injury in children with TBI. High-resolution structural brain MRI has potential to provide early prognostic biomarkers that may help early identification of high-risk children with TBI who are likely to benefit from early surveillance and preventive measures to optimise long-term neuropsychiatric outcomes.

Prospective Associations of Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging Biomarkers with Fatigue Symptom Severity in Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury.

Fatigue may be among the most profound and debilitating consequences of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, neurostructural risk factors associated with post-injury fatigue remain elusive. This prospective study aimed to evaluate the independent value of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) biomarkers, over-and-above known risk factors, to predict fatigue symptom severity in children with TBI. Forty-two children were examined with structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI), including a SWI sequence, within eight weeks post-injury. The PedsQL Multi-Dimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS) was administered 24 months post-injury. Compared with population expectations, the TBI group displayed significantly higher levels of general fatigue (Cohen d = 0.44), cognitive fatigue (Cohen d = 0.59), sleep/rest fatigue (Cohen d = 0.37), and total fatigue (Cohen d = 0.63). In multi-variate models adjusted for TBI severity, child demographic factors, and depression, we found that subacute volume of SWI lesions was independently associated with all fatigue symptom domains. The magnitude of the brain-behavior relationship varied by fatigue symptom domain, such that the strongest relationships were observed for the cognitive fatigue and total fatigue symptom scales. Overall, we found that total subacute volume of SWI lesions explained up to 24% additional variance in multi-dimensional fatigue, over-and-above known risk factors. The subacute SWI has potential to improve prediction of post-injury fatigue in children with TBI. Our preliminary findings suggest that volume of SWI lesions may represent a novel, independent biomarker of post-injury fatigue, which could help to identify high-risk children who are likely to benefit from targeted psychoeducation and/or preventive strategies to minimize risk of long-term post-injury fatigue.

Global and domain-specific self-esteem after pediatric traumatic brain injury: Contribution of injury characteristics and parent mental health.

This prospective, longitudinal case-control study examined global and domain-specific aspects of self-esteem 6-months following pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) and evaluated the contribution of injury-related factors and parent mental health to child self-esteem. Participants included 103 children with mild-severe TBI representing consecutive admissions to the emergency department of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. Forty-three age-and-sex matched typically developing controls were recruited for comparison. Information regarding injury characteristics including age at injury and clinical indicators of TBI severity were collected for participants at recruitment, with research magnetic resonance imaging conducted 2-8 weeks later. At 6 months post-injury, children rated their global and domain-specific self-esteem (Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children), and ratings of parent mental health were collected (General Health Questionnaire). Self-esteem for behavioural and academic domains was significantly poorer for children with TBI relative to TD children. In the TBI group, higher child-rated scores of global and domain-specific aspects of self-esteem were associated with more severe TBI, presence of frontal neuropathology, younger age at injury, and lower parental symptoms of anxiety/insomnia. Given the psychological status of parents represents a potentially modifiable risk factor, it may form the target of clinical interventions designed to bolster child self-esteem following pediatric TBI.

Quality of family environment predicts child perceptions of competence 12 months after pediatric traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Demographic and environmental factors can affect child recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, little is known about their role in predicting child perceptions of competence (i.e., subjective judgments of ability or a sense of adequacy). OBJECTIVES: This prospective, cohort study examined the contribution of participant sex, age at assessment, socioeconomic status, parent-reported change in academic performance post-injury, and the quality of a child's relationship with their family (i.e., family affective involvement, intimacy, integration, and the nature of family roles) to child perceptions of global and academic competence 12 months after pediatric TBI. METHODS: Participants included 127 children, 84 with a TBI (53 mild, 31 moderate-severe TBI; injury age: 5-15 years) and 43 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls. Children rated their perceptions of global and academic competence and degree of family intimacy and integration. Parents completed questionnaires measuring socioeconomic status, family affective involvement, and the nature of family roles. Parents also indicated whether they perceived a change in their child's post-injury academic performance. RESULTS: Child perceptions of academic competence were significantly lower for children with moderate-severe TBI relative to TD children. In contrast, child perceptions of global competence were comparable between TBI and TD control groups. Socioeconomic status, age at assessment, parent-reported relative change in academic performance post-TBI, and family roles were associated with child perceptions of academic competence. Degree of family integration was the sole predictor of child perceptions of global competence. CONCLUSIONS: Child perceptions of academic competence are vulnerable to the effects of moderate-severe TBI, particularly among older children and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Well-defined family roles and greater integration of family units might enhance perceptions of global and academic competence in children with TBI.

What Makes for a Successful Digital Health Integrated Program of Work? Lessons Learnt and Recommendations From the Melbourne Children's Campus.

Embedding digital technologies in healthcare has the potential to streamline and personalize medical care. However, healthcare systems are often fragmented, and therefore achieving a truly integrated digital health program can be challenging. To promote a streamlined, evidence-based approach to implementing digital health solutions in a healthcare system, the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) established the Digital Health Translation and Implementation Program (DHTI) bringing together clinicians, researchers and digital health experts. From the program commencement, frontline clinical innovators have collaborated with DHTI team members to develop and implement digital solutions to address pain-points in the healthcare system. Throughout this program, important lessons have been learnt relating to the development, evaluation and implementation of digital solutions in the healthcare system. This paper explores these lessons and makes recommendations for the successful implementation of digital health solutions in healthcare systems under five main categories: (1) design and usability, (2) stakeholder engagement and uptake, (3) project management and resourcing, (4) process and implementation, and (5) evaluation. Recommendations suggested here are designed to support future healthcare-based digital health programs to maximize the impact digital solutions can have on the healthcare system and patients.

Sleep Well Be Well: Pilot of a digital intervention to improve child behavioural sleep problems.

AIM: To investigate whether a digital sleep intervention improves child and care giver sleep and psychosocial outcomes. METHODS: A total of 120 families with children aged 2-13 years, reporting moderate to severe child behavioural sleep problems, were recruited from a hospital sleep clinic waitlist or the community. Children from non-English speaking families, with known intellectual disability (IQ < 70) or severe medical problems excluded. Tailored behavioural sleep strategies were delivered to primary care givers via a smart phone app and complementary website. Eligible families completed a baseline questionnaire and child 'sleep check' then received the digital sleep intervention for 5 weeks, and then completed a post questionnaire. OUTCOMES: care giver report of child sleep as no/mild versus moderate/severe problem over past month (primary outcome); problem child sleep patterns (Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire or Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire), child temperament, care giver mental health (Kessler 6), care giver sleep, health service use for their child's sleep and time off work/activities to access services. RESULTS: At follow up, care givers reported fewer moderate/severe child sleep problems (84.6-40.7%), improved problem child sleep patterns, better temperament and improved care giver mental health. Care giver sleep quality and quantity remained unchanged. Health service use (averaged over a 6-month period pre- and post-intervention) fell from 18.9% pre- to 14.1% post-intervention. CONCLUSION: A digital sleep intervention appears promising in improving sleep in children with moderate/severe behavioural sleep problems, and care giver mental health. It may be a useful alternative to face-to-face management of behavioural sleep problems.

The feasibility of using smartphone apps to manage self-harm and suicidal acts in adolescents admitted to an inpatient mental health ward.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility (uptake, retention and adherence) and acceptability of a combination of smartphone apps to deliver a digitized safety plan, BeyondNow, and personalized management strategies, BlueIce, with adolescents discharged from a mental health inpatient ward following self-harm, suicidal ideation and/or behavior. METHODS: Participants in this pre-post pilot study included 20 adolescents between 13-18 years, presenting with self-harming or suicidal behaviors in an inpatient psychiatric ward at a tertiary pediatric hospital. Participants were familiarized with the apps and completed baseline measures prior to discharge. They used the apps for six weeks before completing the follow-up survey, which measured feasibility and acceptability of the apps, as well as suicide resilience. RESULTS: Seventeen participants completed the pilot. Most of the sample accessed both apps at least once, three accessed the BeyondNow safety plan five times or more, and six used the BlueIce toolbox five times or more. A total of 73.5% of the sample that experienced a crisis used at least one of the apps at least once. Forty seven percent felt that the apps would not keep them safe when in crisis, although almost all of the sample rated both apps as easy to use (94% for BeyondNow, and 82% for BlueIce). Medium to large effect sizes were also found with regard to improvements in suicide resilience. CONCLUSION: Both apps were found to be feasible and acceptable in this population, and easy to use, although no conclusions can be drawn regarding the clinical efficacy of the apps.

Unraveling the Association between Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury and Social Dysfunction: The Mediating Role of Self-Regulation.

Social dysfunction is a common and disabling outcome of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, the mechanisms that link early brain injury to impaired social behavior are unclear. This longitudinal prospective study involved 129 children, including 86 children with TBI (53 mild, 33 moderate-severe TBI) and 43 age-matched typically developing control (TDC) children. Children with TBI were recruited via consecutive admissions to the emergency department of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne Australia. At 6 months post-injury, all participants were assessed on measures of intellectual functioning, and parents provided ratings of children's self-regulation skills using gold standard measures of everyday executive function. At 12-month follow up, parents rated children's social adjustment using standardized measures of social skills, communication, and behavior. As expected, children with moderate-severe TBI were rated by parents as having greater self-regulation problems, worse social skills, and poorer communication than the mild TBI and TDC groups. In mediation models, greater self-regulation problems at 6 months post-injury were predictive of poorer social skills and worse overall social adjustment at 12-month follow-up. Moreover, self-regulation skills mediated the effect of moderate-severe TBI, but not mild TBI, on social skills and overall social adjustment. Our findings show that, while impaired social adjustment is common at 12 months following moderate-severe child TBI, the impact of TBI on these outcomes is likely mediated by its effect on self-regulation skills. Evidence for robust prospective associations between self-regulation deficits and later social adjustment difficulties have implications for early identification of children at high risk for chronic social problems.

Age-dependent differences in the impact of paediatric traumatic brain injury on executive functions: A prospective study using susceptibility-weighted imaging.

Childhood and adolescence represent sensitive developmental periods for brain networks implicated in a range of complex skills, including executive functions (EF; inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility). As a consequence, these skills may be particularly vulnerable to injuries sustained during these sensitive developmental periods. The present study investigated 1) whether age at injury differentially affects EF 6 months and 2 years after TBI in children aged 5-15 years, and 2) whether the association between brain lesions and EF depend on age at injury. Children with TBI (n = 105) were categorized into four age-at-injury groups based on previous studies and proposed timing of cerebral maturational spurts: early childhood (5-6 years, n = 14), middle childhood (7-9 years, n = 24), late childhood (10-12 years, n = 52), and adolescence (13-15 years, n = 15). EF were assessed with performance-based tasks and a parent-report of everyday EF. TBI patients' EF scores 6 months and 2 years post-injury were compared to those of typically developing (TD) controls (n = 42). Brain lesions were identified using susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI). Results indicated that inhibitory control performance 2 years post-injury was differentially affected by the impact of TBI depending on age at injury. Follow-up analyses did not reveal significant differences within the age groups, preventing drawing strong conclusions regarding the contribution of age at injury to EF outcome after TBI. Tentatively, large effect sizes suggest that vulnerability is most apparent in early childhood and adolescence. Everyday inhibitory control behaviour was worse for children with TBI than TD children across childhood and adolescence at the 2-year assessment. There was no evidence for impairment in working memory or cognitive flexibility after TBI at the group level. Given small group sizes, findings from analyses into correlations between EF and SWI lesions should be interpreted with caution. Extent, number and volume of brain lesions correlated with adolescent everyday EF behaviour 6 months post-injury. Taken together, the results emphasize the need for long-term follow-up after paediatric TBI during sensitive developmental periods given negative outcomes 2-year post injury. Inhibitory control seems to be particular vulnerable to the impact of TBI. Findings of associations between EF and SWI lesions need to be replicated with larger samples.

Protocol for a prospective, school-based standardisation study of a digital social skills assessment tool for children: The Paediatric Evaluation of Emotions, Relationships, and Socialisation (PEERS) study.

BACKGROUND: Humans are by nature a social species, with much of human experience spent in social interaction. Unsurprisingly, social functioning is crucial to well-being and quality of life across the lifespan. While early intervention for social problems appears promising, our ability to identify the specific impairments underlying their social problems (eg, social communication) is restricted by a dearth of accurate, ecologically valid and comprehensive child-direct assessment tools. Current tools are largely limited to parent and teacher ratings scales, which may identify social dysfunction, but not its underlying cause, or adult-based experimental tools, which lack age-appropriate norms. The present study describes the development and standardisation of Paediatric Evaluation of Emotions, Relationships, and Socialisation (PEERS®), an iPad-based social skills assessment tool. METHODS: The PEERS project is a cross-sectional study involving two groups: (1) a normative group, recruited from early childhood, primary and secondary schools across metropolitan and regional Victoria, Australia; and (2) a clinical group, ascertained from outpatient services at The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne (RCH). The project aims to establish normative data for PEERS®, a novel and comprehensive app-delivered child-direct measure of social skills for children and youth. The project involves recruiting and assessing 1000 children aged 4.0-17.11 years. Assessments consist of an intellectual screen, PEERS® subtests, and PEERS-Q, a self-report questionnaire of social skills. Parents and teachers also complete questionnaires relating to participants' social skills. Main analyses will comprise regression-based continuous norming, factor analysis and psychometric analysis of PEERS® and PEERS-Q. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval has been obtained through the RCH Human Research Ethics Committee (34046), the Victorian Government Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (002318), and Catholic Education Melbourne (2166). Findings will be disseminated through international conferences and peer-reviewed journals. Following standardisation of PEERS®, the tool will be made commercially available.

Social Competence at Two Years after Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury.

Children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at risk for social impairment, but research has yet to document the trajectory of these skills post-injury and factors that may predict social problems. This study addressed these gaps in knowledge, reporting on findings from a prospective, longitudinal follow-up study that investigated social outcomes post-injury and explored factors contributing to these outcomes at two years post-injury. The sample included 113 children, 74 with TBI and 39 typically developing (TD) controls. TBI participants were recruited on presentation to the hospital. Parents rated pre-injury function at that time, and all children underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Participants were followed up at two years post-injury. Outcomes were social adjustment, social participation, social relationships, and social cognition. Predictors of social outcomes examined included brain lesion characteristics, child cognition (6 months post-TBI), and behavior and environmental factors (pre-injury and two years). Reduced social adjustment (p = 0.011) and social participation (p < 0.001) were evident in children with TBI compared with TD controls. Poor social adjustment was predicted by externalizing behavior problems and younger age at injury. Reduced social participation was linked to internalizing behavior problems. Greater lesion volume, lower socioeconomic status, and family burden contributed to poorer social relationships, whereas age at injury predicted social cognition. Within the TBI group, 23% of children exhibited social impairments. Younger age at injury, greater pre-injury, and current behavior problems and family dysfunction, and poorer intelligence quotient (IQ), processing speed, and empathy were linked to impairment. Further follow-up is required to track social recovery and the influences of cognition, brain, and environment over time.

Social and Behavioral Outcomes following Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury: What Predicts Outcome at 12 Months Post-Insult?

This study sought to investigate social and behavioral outcomes 12 months following childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to identify predictors of these outcomes. The study also compared rates of impairment in social and behavioral outcomes at 12 months post-injury between children with TBI and a typically developing (TD) control group. The study comprised 114 children ages 5.5 to 16.0 years, 79 with mild, moderate, or severe TBI and 35 TD children, group-matched for age, sex and socio-economic status. Children with TBI were recruited via consecutive hospital admissions and TD children from the community. Social and behavioral outcomes were measured via parent-rated questionnaires. Analysis of covariance models identified a significant mean difference between the mild and moderate groups for social problems only, but the moderate and severe TBI groups showed a higher rate of impairment, particularly in externalizing problems. Pre-injury function, injury severity, parent mental health, and child self-esteem all contributed significantly to predicting social and behavioral outcomes. Both injury and non-injury factors should be considered when identifying children at risk for long-term difficulties in social and behavioral domains.

Longitudinal outcome and recovery of social problems after pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI): Contribution of brain insult and family environment.

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result in a range of social impairments, however longitudinal recovery is not well characterized, and clinicians are poorly equipped to identify children at risk for persisting difficulties. Using a longitudinal prospective design, this study aimed to evaluate the contribution of injury and non-injury related risk and resilience factors to longitudinal outcome and recovery of social problems from 12- to 24-months post-TBI. 78 children with TBI (injury age: 5.0-15.0 years) and 40 age and gender-matched typically developing (TD) children underwent magnetic resonance imaging including a susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) sequence 2-8 weeks post-injury (M=39.25, SD=27.64 days). At 12 and 24-months post- injury, parents completed questionnaires rating their child's social functioning, and environmental factors including socioeconomic status, caregiver mental health and family functioning. Results revealed that longitudinal recovery profiles differed as a function of injury severity, such that among children with severe TBI, social problems significantly increased from 12- to 24-months post-injury, and were found to be significantly worse than TD controls and children with mild and moderate TBI. In contrast, children with mild and moderate injuries showed few problems at 12-months post-injury and little change over time. Pre-injury environment and SWI did not significantly contribute to outcome at 24-months, however concurrent caregiver mental health and family functioning explained a large and significant proportion of variance in these outcomes. Overall, this study shows that longitudinal recovery profiles differ as a function of injury severity, with evidence for late-emerging social problems among children with severe TBI. Poorer long-term social outcomes were associated with family dysfunction and poorer caregiver mental health at 24-months post injury, suggesting that efforts to optimize the child's environment and bolster family coping resources may enhance recovery of social problems following pediatric TBI.

Theory of mind mediates the prospective relationship between abnormal social brain network morphology and chronic behavior problems after pediatric traumatic brain injury.

Childhood and adolescence coincide with rapid maturation and synaptic reorganization of distributed neural networks that underlie complex cognitive-affective behaviors. These regions, referred to collectively as the 'social brain network' (SBN) are commonly vulnerable to disruption from pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, the mechanisms that link morphological changes in the SBN to behavior problems in this population remain unclear. In 98 children and adolescents with mild to severe TBI, we acquired 3D T1-weighted MRIs at 2-8 weeks post-injury. For comparison, 33 typically developing controls of similar age, sex and education were scanned. All participants were assessed on measures of Theory of Mind (ToM) at 6 months post-injury and parents provided ratings of behavior problems at 24-months post-injury. Severe TBI was associated with volumetric reductions in the overall SBN package, as well as regional gray matter structural change in multiple component regions of the SBN. When compared with TD controls and children with milder injuries, the severe TBI group had significantly poorer ToM, which was associated with more frequent behavior problems and abnormal SBN morphology. Mediation analysis indicated that impaired theory of mind mediated the prospective relationship between abnormal SBN morphology and more frequent chronic behavior problems. Our findings suggest that sub-acute alterations in SBN morphology indirectly contribute to long-term behavior problems via their influence on ToM. Volumetric change in the SBN and its putative hub regions may represent useful imaging biomarkers for prediction of post-acute social cognitive impairment, which may in turn elevate risk for chronic behavior problems.

Predictors of longitudinal outcome and recovery of pragmatic language and its relation to externalizing behaviour after pediatric traumatic brain injury.

The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the contribution of age-at-insult and brain pathology on longitudinal outcome and recovery of pragmatic language in a sample of children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Children and adolescents with mild to severe TBI (n=112) were categorized according to timing of brain insult: (i) Middle Childhood (5-9 years; n=41); (ii) Late Childhood (10-11 years; n=39); and (iii) Adolescence (12-15 years; n=32) and group-matched for age, gender and socio-economic status (SES) to a typically developing (TD) control group (n=43). Participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including a susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) sequence 2-8 weeks after injury and were assessed on measures of pragmatic language and behavioural functioning at 6- and 24-months after injury. Children and adolescents with TBI of all severity levels demonstrated impairments in these domains at 6-months injury before returning to age-expected levels at 2-years post-TBI. However, while adolescent TBI was associated with post-acute disruption to skills that preceded recovery to age-expected levels by 2-years post injury, the middle childhood TBI group demonstrated impairments at 6-months post-injury that were maintained at 2-year follow up. Reduced pragmatic communication was associated with frontal, temporal and corpus callosum lesions, as well as more frequent externalizing behaviour at 24-months post injury. Findings show that persisting pragmatic language impairment after pediatric TBI is related to younger age at brain insult, as well as microhemorrhagic pathology in brain regions that contribute to the anatomically distributed social brain network. Relationships between reduced pragmatic communication and more frequent externalizing behavior underscore the need for context-sensitive rehabilitation programs that aim to increase interpersonal effectiveness and reduce risk for maladaptive behavior trajectories into the long-term post injury.