Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury and the Effect on Academic And Psychosocial Functioning in School Aged Children: A Pilot Study

The academic and psychosocial functioning of 20 post-TBI high school students were investigated in this pilot study. Participants included 12 males and 8 females ranging in age from 14 to 18 years. The students demonstrated a higher number of discipline referral post-TBI (d = 0.82) with a large effect size. Correlational analysis revealed a relationship between preand post-TBI, rate of attendance, and GPA. Thirty percent of student participants identified a level of significant elevation on the BASC-3 or BYI-II, most commonly social stress, depression, and sense of inadequacy. One hundred percent identified a change to their academic functioning, social life, or mood post-TBI, as recorded on the self-report survey designed for the study. The most reported changes were lowered grades, difficulty focusing, less social interaction, decreased mood, quicker to anger, and feeling anxious and stressed.