title: An initial study to establish symptom base rates of traumatic brain injury in children.
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.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Massey University, Private Box 756, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Clare M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Couch
authors.forename: Janet M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Leathem
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D005222:Mental Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires